Too Close to Home
by nherbie
Summary: 2018 Reboot. Juliet gets some bad news and takes it out on Thomas.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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Juliet read the email three times. Her emotions bounced from shock to sorrow to anger and circled back again. She finally settled on anger as it gave her something to focus on. She slammed the laptop closed and stood up, dizziness hitting her once she was upright. She leaned forward, placing her fists on the desk and closed her eyes in despair.

"Hey, Higgy…" Magnum's voice sounded behind her and she turned abruptly, interrupting him.

"What do you want _now_, Magnum? To borrow my laptop? To borrow some money? To have me use my skills to solve some stupid case you took on and are too _inept_ to solve? Maybe you need TC and Rick to help you? You're a leech! You live here free of charge and drive Robin's expensive cars, none of which you'll ever be able to afford yourself, while giving nothing in return! Whatever he thinks he owes you, he's paid back in spades. Your friends have _jobs_, _Magnum. Real_ jobs! Detective Katsumoto has a job, one you seem to relish interfering with. _I_ have a job Magnum! You are constantly disrupting all of our abilities to _do_ our jobs!" Her separating TC and Rick from her and Katsumoto firmly put them in two different camps. Friends and not friends.

Magnum stared at her in shock. He'd come in to see if she wanted to fire up the grill and share a meal, having a sudden craving for a cheeseburger. He stiffened when the thought that the grill didn't belong to him either, passed through his mind. He nodded. "Understood." He turned smartly on one heel and marched out of the main house. She watched him go and opened her mouth to call him back, knowing that she owed him an apology. She didn't mean what she'd said. Maybe at one time, but not anymore. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and she'd lashed out at him as the only outlet for her anger. She stopped herself, thinking he might need some time to cool off and she needed time to get herself under control.

Turning, she found herself face to face with Kumu, who was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and a stern look on her face. "Kumu…I…" She stopped, not sure how much the older woman had heard.

"Would you care to explain that little outburst?" Bloody hell, the woman had to have heard all of it. She had a soft spot for Magnum and her expression left little to the imagination about which one of them she'd side with. Slumping her shoulders, she sat down heavily in her desk chair.

"I…I didn't mean…" She paused and finished baldly. "Ian Pryce escaped MI6 custody this morning and killed two agents in the process. I just heard from one of my contacts there, he figured I'd want to know." She took a deep breath. "I knew one of them, Kumu. He was a good man. He had a wife and two small children. He stopped going out into the field because he didn't want to get killed and leave them alone. This should have been an easy assignment and now his wife is a widow and their children have no father. I should've just killed Ian when I had the chance! If Magnum hadn't talked me out of it, those men would still be alive." Even she heard the despair in her voice.

"Did he talk you out of it or did he just remind you of who you are?" Kumu asked quietly, her face softening as she realized just how upset Juliet was.

"He talked me…" She sighed, honesty warring with her anger. "He reminded me of who I am." She admitted, albeit grudgingly.

"You aren't a cold-blooded killer, Juliet. Whatever that man has done, that's on him. It's not on you." Kumu paused. "Nor is it on Thomas. You owe him an apology."

"I know. I knew it the instant the words were out of my mouth. I just couldn't seem to make myself go after him."

"It's not easy to lose a friend to violence. Thomas knows that better than most."

"You sure know how to hit below the belt, don't you Kumu?"

Kumu put her hand on Juliet's shoulder and squeezed. "I'm just stating the facts. Thomas would understand what you're going through more than most anyone. You should be leaning on him, not hurling insults."

"Lean on _Magnum_?" She said snidely.

"Why not? Others do and they seem to be the better for it."

"I…okay, I'll apologize, but I'm _not_ leaning on him!"

"You might be surprised." She patted the younger woman on the shoulder and left her to her thoughts.

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Magnum marched back to the guest house, thoughts swirling around his brain. He'd thought things were better between him and Higgins, that she'd come to tolerate, if not actually like him. She'd seemed to enjoy helping with his cases. It had to be better than just knocking around Robin's Nest with not much to do, other than pay the bills, train the dogs and do yoga. She was a woman of action, a kick ass ex MI6 agent. He'd obviously misread her and the whole situation.

Once he was inside, he quickly shucked his clothes and threw on his running gear. He left his phone on the coffee table, not wanting to listen to music or deal with any incoming calls. He was back outside and running on the beach within five minutes. He pounded along the sand, working things out in his head. Had he overstayed his welcome? Robin hadn't said anything, but would he? Even if he felt that way? Was he that much of a leech? Yeah, he cadged help from TC and Rick, along with Juliet, but they'd only ever teased him about it, had never seemed angry and he was always there for them in return. And, yeah, he never had much money. At least, not money he would use. He didn't charge the ridiculous rates some of his competitors did and, of course, that led to some of his clients being a little on the rough side, and maybe some had paid him in chickens, but still, he'd helped people. Hadn't he? Amanda Sako's face immediately flashed through his mind's eye. He was making amends for the things that happened to his friends because he brought Hannah deeper into their lives. Wasn't he?

He ran until the sun started to set and then stopped, panting hard and dropped down onto the sand. He rested his arms on his upraised knees and watched the sun sink below the horizon. When it was gone and the sky was darkening, he stood up and headed back to the house, walking this time instead of running. Once home, he moved through the darkened house, not needing lights to find his way. He still hadn't decided on what he was going to do long term but he did know he needed some time away to get things worked out. He didn't have a client right now and he had a rainy-day fund. Eighteen months in captivity didn't leave you much opportunity to spend your paycheck. He had mixed feelings about that money, loath to touch it except in an emergency as it represented a time in his life he wanted to forget. He was starting to think this was a time when he'd make an exception. He quickly showered and slipped into bed, dinner and cheeseburgers a long-forgotten thought.

His sleep that night was less then refreshing, and he was up again before dawn. He showered, dressed and then began to pack. He didn't have much, so it didn't take him very long. He emptied the cabinets and refrigerator of food, packing the dry goods into a box and the cold food in a cooler. He knew he'd be back, if only to drop off the car and pick up his surfboard, which wouldn't fit in the sporty car. He just wasn't sure if he'd be staying and he wanted to be prepared. Done, he made one last circuit of the house, looking for anything he might have missed. Finding nothing, he grabbed his keys. Walking outside, he looked at the Ferrari and almost couldn't bring himself to get in. Squaring his shoulders, he fired it up and pulled it up to the front door of the guest house. He got out and opened the trunk, leaving the lid up. He knew the security cameras wouldn't be able to see what he was carrying out the door, as he was the one who'd placed them. If Juliet decided to watch the security tapes, she'd just be able to see his head as he walked in and out. He made two trips in about five minutes, packing away his current life in the small trunk of the car, gently laying his dress whites in their protective covering, across the top.

Closing the lid, he got in and turned the car around, heading off the estate. He stopped at the gate and entered his code to open it, knowing it would send an alert to Higgins's laptop, but he refrained from his normal wave at the camera, staring straight ahead. He drove through, watching it close behind him in the rearview mirror, wondering if this was a metaphor for this chapter of his life. Shaking it off, he headed into town, having several stops in mind. He pulled up to the bank just as it was opening and was their first customer of the day. He figured he'd need about two thousand for what he wanted and filled out the withdrawal slip. Once he had the money in hand, he strolled back outside, raising his face to the Hawaiian sunshine, letting it sooth away some of his tiredness.

He got into the car and pointed the Ferrari towards a used car dealership an old buddy of his owned. The dealership wasn't open just yet, although he could see people inside as he wandered around, looking at the available cars on the lot. He kept being drawn back to an older black Jeep Wrangler as he imagined himself in it. His spirits lifted a bit.

Inside, Erica McDonald listened with one ear to today's sales pitch as she watched the man in the baseball cap move around the used car selection on the lot. She watched him circle the 2001 Jeep Wrangler. He made her heart flutter for some reason. When the team meeting was over, she beelined for him. She'd just about reached him when her boss beat her to the punch.

"Thomas Magnum! What are you doing here?" The man's voice boomed out behind her. Her target turned and she opened her mouth to say something, but the man only had eyes for Heller.

"Eddie! Good to see you man!" The two bro hugged and Eddie stepped back, keeping his hands on Magnum's shoulders.

"You look a little peaked my friend." Eddie had retired from the Marines and settled in Hawaii before Magnum and his team had been taken. He'd heard about it through the grapevine and kept an ear to the ground waiting for something definitive. When he'd heard that the men had escaped, he hadn't been surprised. Those four were some of the most resourceful men he'd ever served with. When Thomas had moved to the island, they'd met up for drinks a few times. He'd asked about Afghanistan, worried about his friend, but had taken the lack of response for what it was. A desire not to dwell on it, not an indication that their friendship wasn't strong enough. He'd been devasted when he'd heard that Nuzo had been murdered, knowing how close he and Thomas were.

"That fancy Ferrari you're driving around finally let you down?" Eddie teased.

"Nah! She's a beauty, just not much good when I need to go off road or be inconspicuous." Magnum had filled Eddie in on his new field of work when he'd first arrived, and Eddie had been thrilled for him. "Thinking something like this might be more what I need for those occasions." He patted the hood of the Wrangler.

"She's a good work horse, and reasonably priced." He named a figure that made Erica's jaw drop as she hovered. It was significantly less than what they were asking, below book value and pretty much at cost. "I'll take you on a test drive myself. Just let me get the keys." He trotted off and Erica took the opportunity to introduce herself and make small talk. Magnum unconsciously charmed her, and she wished even more that she was the one about go with him for a drive. Eddie returned and the two men got into the car, Magnum in the driver's seat. He smiled at her and waved as he put the Jeep in drive and drove off the lot. If she stayed there and watched until they were out of sight, well, she was just doing her job to make sure everything was going as it should.

When they returned twenty minutes later, she was waiting. "What did you think?"

"Hi Erica, I think she's just what I'm looking for." He turned to his friend. "Eddie, I'll take her. I'll put down ten percent and take out a loan."

Eddie grinned. "How about this? You want to take her for a few days? Make sure she's what you need?" Erica's jaw dropped for the second time in less than an hour. Eddie never let prospective buyers off the lot with a vehicle without either one of them in it or a bill of sale.

"You'd let me do that?"

"Sure! We do it all the time. Nothing worse than buying a car you only test drove for a few miles, just to find out it doesn't fit the bill! What do you think? Three days? Four?" It was actually against his policy, but he was worried about his young friend and figured requiring him to come back in a couple days would give him a chance to reevaluate his demeanor.

"Four should do it. Look, Eddie, I really appreciate it."

Eddie waved him off. "Don't mention it. Anything for a friend and fellow vet." They moved inside and filled out the paperwork, talking idly of what Rick and TC were up to, Magnum relating some of his funnier cases, causing Eddie to laugh. Finished, they stood up and shook hands. "You got a way of getting this home? Can't drive two cars."

Magnum frowned. He hadn't really thought about the logistics. "Not really. I guess I can take the Ferrari back to the estate and Uber back."

"Don't be silly. I'll have one my sales people follow you home and you can just bring them back."

"You sure?" Eddie smiled and nodded. "Then that would be great! Thanks again Eddie!"

"Not a problem buddy." They walked out of his office and right into Erica who was once again hovering. "Erica! Just the person I wanted to see. Can you do us a favor and follow Thomas home in the Jeep? He'll bring you back."

"Sure thing Mr. Heller, I'd be more than happy to do so." And she meant it. Not only would she be spending more time in the company of the handsome man standing next to her boss, but she might get some information out of him about Eddie. No one knew much except that he was a retired Marine and a good man to work for. She took the keys for the Jeep and followed them out to the lot. Magnum popped the trunk on the Ferrari and moved all his things to the other car. Eddie frowned when he saw the dress whites, not quite understanding why he'd be carting that around, but it refueled his worry. He caught his friend's eye, opened his mouth to ask and then shut if again. If he'd learned one thing about Thomas Magnum, it was that the man seemed like an open book until you wanted to know something he didn't want you to, then you might as well just give up before you started. If he wanted Eddie to know, he'd tell him.

"Thanks again Eddie, I'll take good care of her. I have a good feeling about this one."

"Great. I'll see you in a few days then?"

"Will do." He sketched a wave and dropped into the front seat of the Ferrari. He started it up and waved again as he pulled off the lot. He realized this was most likely the last time he'd be driving it and he really wanted to open it up, but that would mean he'd lose the Jeep. He kept an eye on the following car and was pleased to see that it kept up, even if he didn't have it in high gear. He turned into the drive and pulled up to the gate, entering his code once more. Driving through, he led the Jeep to the guest house.

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Inside the main house, Higgins watched through the camera. Last night, once she'd calmed down, she'd gone to the guest house to talk to him. First, to offer her apologies and second, to fill him in on what had happened. There'd been no lights on, and no one answered the door. She'd waited almost an hour before giving up. She'd kept watch on the cameras but never saw him come back and the lights never went on. She eventually gave up and went to bed, only to toss and turn. She didn't know if he never came home or if he knew how to avoid the cameras, something he'd never bothered to do before. She'd gotten up a bit later than normal and was standing in the office, savoring her first cup of coffee, willing it to wake her up, when the gate alert had sounded on her laptop. She'd brought up the feed in time to see Magnum drive through, never looking at the camera. Normally, he gave a jaunty wave as he waited for the gate to finish opening, just to annoy her. It made her heart ache a little to see him staring straight ahead.

Now he was back, with a blonde in a Jeep following him. She sneered at the camera. She didn't know why she'd bothered worrying about him. Obviously, he was fine and had just been out with one of his tarts. She watched as the woman got out of the car but made no move to go into the guest house with him. He was out a few minutes later with his surfboard and put it in the back of the utility vehicle. So, instead of working, he was going surfing. Typical. She expected him to get in, but instead, he got back in the Ferrari and drove it down towards the garage. She switched cameras, feeling a bit like a voyeur, and watched him park it beside the others. He patted the hood and walked away. She frowned, wondering why it felt like he was saying goodbye. That was silly, the car was an inanimate object. She was just imagining things. He moved out of range and she switched back to the guest house camera. He walked up the drive and went back inside, coming out in less than a minute. The tart got in the passenger side and Magnum in the driver's. He turned the Jeep around and headed down the drive, entering his code once more at the gate. This time, as it opened, he stared into the camera with no expression. She frowned, not liking it at all. She went to push the button that would open the intercom, but it was too late. He drove through and was gone, the gates closing behind him.

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	2. Chapter 2

A/N - oops, forgot the disclaimer. I own nothing but my original characters.

A/N2 - I was hesitant about the reboot, as I vaguely remember the original Magnum. I think they made it different enough to update it but not stray to far as to make it unrecognizable. I've seen people complain that Higgins is a woman and that the show changed to many things from the original. If I had to hazard a guess, if the show _was_ exactly like the original, these same people would be complaining that it was a ripoff. I personally like Higgins character and the actress who plays her.

A/N3 - many thanks to my beta, honus47, for her editing skills! All errors left are on me.

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Chapter 2

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Magnum dropped Erica off at the dealership but didn't have a chance to talk with Eddie again, as he was with a customer. Instead he just waved and left again, with a business card she'd pressed into his hand at the last minute. When he arrived at the sporting goods store, he went to put it into his wallet, only to see something written on the back. He smiled slightly at the phone number, realizing she was hoping he'd call her for something other than business. He might just take her up on that, later.

Getting out, he headed inside, a bit more flush with cash than he'd expected as he hadn't had to put any money down on the Jeep. He made quick work of picking up a one-person tent, a sleeping bag, a small grill grate and some cooking gear. He knew where he was going. A small secluded beach he'd stumbled on some time ago. Should be deserted and just the place he could go to get his thoughts in order. To decide what he wanted to do, _without_ any well-meaning interference from his friends. He paid cash and stuffed the equipment into the back of the Jeep, grateful for the larger cargo area. He loved the Ferrari, but it was a bit limited in space.

He pulled out his phone and sent a group text to Rick and TC. "Hey guys, I need to head out of town for a couple days. I'll be off grid. Don't worry about me. Will touch base when I get back." Once it was sent, he turned off the GPS, then the power and put it in the glove compartment. He drove almost an hour, before coming to the dirt road he remembered, and turned off. The Jeep took the bumpy road in stride and he was pulling up to the beach about a half hour later. Parking, he kicked off his shoes and walked down to the water. It was beautiful and quiet here. Just what he needed. Checking his watch, he saw he had several hours before sundown. Still, he'd get set up before taking his board out. He moved quickly and efficiently, having the tent up within minutes. He put the sleeping bag and his duffle bag inside, the grill grate and cooking gear just outside but left the food in the car as he wasn't sure if there was any wild life around that might find it attractive. The board he pushed into the sand next to where he planned to set up a fire. He locked the door, after putting his gun under the driver's seat.

He scoured the area, picking up rocks to line a fire pit, along with some dead wood and some coconut husks to use as tinder. Once he had enough, he dug a hole in the sand and lined it with the rocks. The dead wood went in next, with some of the husks strategically placed as a fire starter. He sat back on his heels, satisfied with his work. Now it was time to play a little. Ducking into the tent, he quickly changed into his board shorts. Zipping the door of the tent closed behind him, he picked up his board and headed into the water. He surfed and sometimes just hung out beyond the breakwater, thinking but not really getting anywhere. Higgins words just kept swirling around in his head. As the sun started to drop, he went back in. Standing his board up in the sand again, he started the fire, watching the dead wood begin to catch.

He stood up and unlocked the Jeep, pulling out the cooler. He plopped it down next to the fire and placed the grill grate over the open flames. Placing a cast iron skillet on top to heat, he opened the cooler and pulled out some hamburger. Shaping it into two burgers, he dropped one into the skillet, listening to the hiss of the meat beginning to cook. He put the other back in the cooler, knowing he'd have to either use up what he had soon or hike out for some more ice. He pulled out some cheese, along with a bottle of water, and waited for the burger to cook. Turning it over a couple times, he judged it ready. He put a slice of the cheese on it and let it sit for a minute longer, to let it melt. Taking the skillet off the grate, he slid his dinner out and onto a bun held in his hand. He dropped the pan into the sand next to him, to be washed later or used again if he felt the urge for seconds.

Taking a bite, he moaned a little. Finally. He'd been craving a cheeseburger since the night before. His appetite diminished a little as he remembered why he hadn't had one then. Eating more slowly, he became aware of some rustling in the bushes nearby. He tensed, wondering what it was. He knew there were no wild animals like bears or coyotes on Oahu, but still. He watched out of the corner of his eye, making sure the skillet was near to hand. He blinked a bit when he saw a small snout push out, the nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. He sat still to see if anything followed the nose. A faint whine broke the silence and just about broke his heart. A little more of the animal showed as he (she?) moved towards the tantalizing smell. Sad brown eyes met his and the animal moved backwards a bit. He broke off a small piece of his burger and gently threw it towards the bushes. The whine came again and more of the animal emerged as what he could now see was a dog, crawled forward on its belly. The food was found and gone in a blink. He broke off another small piece and threw it closer. It disappeared just as quickly.

"Hey buddy." He said softly. "There's more where that came from. I'm not going to hurt you." The dog whined yet again and crawled a bit closer to the fire. In the wavering firelight, it appeared to be some kind of Spaniel, but it was hard to tell, it was so dirty and the hair so matted. He threw another piece of burger but didn't make any big moves, not wanting to scare the poor thing off. The dog crawled closer, never getting up on all fours and he started to worry that it was hurt. He threw another piece and this one was eaten a bit more daintily, obviously some of its starvation had abated. He waited before sending over another small piece and was rewarded by the dog crawling closer yet. If he were to bet, he'd bet that the dog craved company almost as much as food.

He threw the next piece closer still and the dog took it. For the next few minutes, they played that game until the dog was within reach. He gave it small pieces, worried that too much food too quickly on an empty stomach, would make it sick. He didn't try to touch it, at least not yet. He needed to get its trust first. The burger was gone, more than half of it eaten by his unexpected visitor. Moving slowly, glad that the cooler was on the other side, he opened it and pulled out the other burger. He carefully put the skillet back on the grate and placed the meat in it. The burger began to cook, putting out delicious smells and it came closer. While the meat was cooking, he poured some water out of the bottle into the empty hamburger container and pushed it towards his visitor. It wasn't the cleanest, but the tiny bit of raw meat shouldn't hurt it. The dog drank the water greedily. He wondered if it had run away or been abandoned. People thought that domesticated cats and dogs could survive on their own in Hawaii's temperate climate, not realizing, or not caring, that this wasn't the case for most. Most starved to death, got hit by cars, shot by home owners who didn't want stray dogs on their property or bitten by some of the indigenous poisonous snakes, like the Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake. The thought of someone just dumping the pitiful little thing out here, made him angry.

When the new burger was done, he gently placed some more by its nose, eating a bit himself. Eventually, the second one was gone, and one small piece remained untouched, so he figured it was full. He stayed where he was, watching the fire and the dog out of the corner of his eye, leaving his hand by his side, palm up. After about a half an hour, the dog leaned forward and sniffed it. It pulled back, waiting. When he didn't make any threatening moves, it crept a little closer. He lifted his hand a little, watching as it pulled back again, watching him warily. He stayed still, his hand suspended in the air, until the dog snuck a little closer. He reached out and gently touched its head. Instead of running away, it leaned into it and sighed. He carefully rubbed behind the ears and the dog almost groaned in appreciation. They stayed that way for a long time until the fire started to go out. He stopped rubbing and leaned to the side to pick up more wood. Placing it in the fire, he watched to make sure it caught, then looked back to find the dog closer still. He waited patiently and it finally got close enough to lean up against his leg. He began stroking its back and the small body relaxed when nothing bad happened.

An hour or so later, he began to tire, and the fire was going out again. He carefully stood up, patting the dog and speaking softly. "Do you want to come in with me for the night? There's plenty of room for both of us." He stood up and the dog backed off. He slowly picked up the cooler and walked back to the Jeep. Placing it inside, he leaned under the front seat and pulled out his gun. He wasn't afraid of anyone jumping him during the night, not really. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Locking the car behind him, he moved quietly to the tent, unzipping it and moving inside. He knelt down and held the flap open. "Come on, it's safe in here. I'll leave part of the door open so you can come and go as you please. Just don't bring any friends back with you if you leave."

The dog just watched him with its head tilted to the side. He slipped out of his board shorts and into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, regretting the lack of a shower. He zipped the tent closed but tacked up the corner to allow the dog in if it decided it wanted to. He got into the sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He was tired, but sleep seemed far away. He heard a soft noise and then the dog was inside, walking on all four legs. He was relieved that the crawling on its belly wasn't a sign of a bad injury. He stayed still and the little one crept up to him and snuggled up beside him. A big smile lifted his lips and he gently laid a hand on its head, rubbing the ears again. The dog leaned into him harder and Magnum started to rub its belly. The small animal rolled onto it's back, showing he had gained its trust and Magnum took a discrete peek. Female then. Gradually, the two drifted off to sleep.

Magnum woke up when he heard something. Voices surrounded the tent and then a foot kicked the side. "Come on out malihini! This beach is for nā kaiāulu only!" Magnum sat up and realized the dog was gone. He was kind of disappointed. Reaching under the sleeping bag, he pulled out his gun and tucked it into the back of his sweatpants, pulling the t-shirt over it so it was hidden. Getting up, he unzipped the tent and stepped out to find three boys surrounding him, all holding surfboards, and he relaxed.

"Aloha kakahiaka. I was just about to get up and make some breakfast. Any of you hungry? I have plenty."

"What if we just take it, haole?" The biggest and oldest of the three asked aggressively.

"Well, that would not be very ho'okipa"

"You mocking us?" The boy drew himself up to his full height.

"I would never mock ho'okipa." He frowned at the three and then pointed at the fire pit. "It will only take me a few minutes to get the fire going and cook up some eggs and bacon." The youngest of the three perked up.

"Bacon?"

"Yeah. I need to cook it up or it'll go bad. The ice is almost gone. I can't eat it all myself."

The three looked at each other, obviously waiting for the biggest to make a decision, the smallest pleading with his eyes. "Fine. We'll eat your food, then you need to leave." Magnum hid his smile at the bluster. He moved forward and put more of the dead wood in the fire pit. He stuffed some more coconut husk in with the wood and lit it with a match. The husk caught immediately, and the fire began to take hold. He stood up and moved to the Jeep, unlocking it.

"What are you doing?" The leader sounded belligerent again.

"I locked the food up in the car so that nothing could get to it during the night."

"Oh."

He bit his lip to stop from laughing at the youngsters. He pulled out the cooler and put it in the same position as he had last night. Digging around, he pulled out eggs, cheese, milk and bacon along with some ham, pineapple, and a tomato. He placed the skillet on the grate again, then began dicing the tomato. When the skillet was hot, he threw in the bacon and watched it carefully. When it was done, he used a fork to pull the pieces out and put it on one of the plates he'd put aside for that reason. He cracked open the eggs into the bacon grease and was pleased as they began to cook. He mixed in the other ingredients and kept stirring everything so it wouldn't stick. When it was done, he lifted the skillet and parsed out the egg mixture onto four other plates. He handed one to each of them and then waved towards the bacon. They all tucked in and the three finished quickly. He wondered if they'd eaten that day. When they were done, he picked up the plates and skillet, walking to the water to wash the dishes. Behind him he heard a commotion and turned to find the dog had returned and the boys were kicking sand at her.

"Stop! What are you doing?" He sprinted towards them.

"Stopping this mutt from stealing from you." The middle boy spoke for the first time.

"She's not a mutt! She's my friend." Magnum approached the dog and held out his hand. "It's okay Annie. They didn't mean anything. Friends." He startled himself with the name of for the dog. He didn't remember settling on anything, it had just come to him. Little Orphan Annie. That about summed it up.

The youngest was the first to speak. "We didn't mean any harm to her. We just wanted to shoo her away."

Magnum smiled up at him from the dog's side. "It's okay, you didn't hurt her. Still, she's alone and scared. All she wants is something to eat and someone to care about her."

The three boys knelt down and held out their hands. Annie sniffed them, leaning into Magnum for safety and then licked the oldest's hand. The boy's face lit up with a smile and Thomas knew she had a convert. He grabbed the last pieces of bacon and held one of them out to her. She daintily took it, munching it down.

"She's kinda pretty." The youngest said.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Not that he had anything to do with it. Realizing that he couldn't keep calling them oldest, youngest and middle boy in his mind, he stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Thomas."

"I'm Alika." Said the oldest, taking his hand.

"Guardian. Very appropriate." He said and watched Alike puff up.

The youngest offered his next. "Hani."

Thomas smiled. "Happy. I like it." The boy grinned at him.

"Kukane." Said middle boy.

"Man like. I see it." The boy puffed up much like his older compatriot.

"You seem to know a lot about Hawaiian names." Alika said.

"Languages are a hobby of mine. Hawaiian is a beautiful language. Full of meanings." He replied.

"Not many haole agree."

"Then that's their loss." He gestured towards their boards. "You here to surf?"

"Yeah, this is a great spot. Not too many people know about it." Hani said.

Magnum pointed towards his board. "I'm here to do the same. Want to head out?"

The boys nodded enthusiastically. Magnum smiled. "I just need to put the food away and change, give me a few minutes." He picked up the cooler and put it back in the jeep, surreptitiously pulling out his gun and putting it back in its place under the front seat. Done, he locked the vehicle and ducked into the tent to quickly put on his board shorts and a tank top. Stepping back out, he pulled his board out of the sand. "What are we waiting for then?" He looked down at the small dog. "Annie, we're going surfing. Guard the site, okay?" The dog seemed to grin up at him, signaling acceptance as the four of them plunged into the ocean. They surfed for hours, the little dog patrolling the beach. They finally came in when hunger drove them. Thomas once again provided lunch, noticing that none of the boys had brought food with them. He didn't say anything, just provided sandwiches and bottled water. His supplies were dwindling faster than he'd expected as he had four, no five, mouths to feed instead of one, not that he minded. He'd thoroughly enjoyed the morning, although he'd not thought much about his future while enjoying the company and the water.

Magnum had kept on his tank top during the morning surf but, without thinking, he took it off when done eating. He was hot and getting hotter. Hani's jaw dropped open at the scars on their new friend's body. He pointed to the one on his left shoulder. "That…that looks like a bullet hole."

Magnum looked down and laughed, forced although the boys didn't know it. "Yeah, it is. My ex shot me."

"What? Why?" Alika asked, forgetting his role as biggest and baddest and sounding as young as he was.

"I was trying to make sure she didn't make a big mistake. She disagreed." Thomas said, forcing a laugh.

"That's messed up." Hani said.

"Yeah, well, you'd have to live my life to understand just how messed up."

Kukane pointed to his side. "That one looks painful."

Quietly, Magnum agreed. "Yeah."

"So…where did that come from?"

"Bad men." His response was short and quiet, his tone telling them he didn't want to talk about it.

The three boys exchanged a glance and, upon unspoken agreement, agreed not to pursue it. Alika looked up at the sun. "We've got a few more hours left. Want to head out again?"

All of them nodded and stood up. Annie frolicked around their legs, barking and playing. He wondered how long it had been since the little girl had felt so uninhibited. They headed out and enjoyed the afternoon. They came in for dinner, this time it was hot dogs and Annie devoured two. Eventually, the sun began to set, and the boys needed to head home.

"Same time tomorrow?" Magnum asked.

"You feeding us breakfast again?" Alika asked.

"You never know!" Magnum replied.

"Mahalo." Kukane said.

"Noʻu ka hauʻoli." He replied. He watched the boys leave as the sun sank. Putting a hand on Annie's head, he said. "It was a good day, my friend. I hope tomorrow is as good." He went to the car to get his gun again and then moved towards the tent, the dog never straying from his side. He slipped inside, happy that Annie followed him this time without any cajoling on his part.

Even though he hadn't put much conscious thought into the reasons why he was here, he realized he had been working on it. He knew Juliet Higgins. The way she'd spoken to him had almost been hysterical, a trait he would never associate with her. Something had to have upset her. He should have seen it but the words had hit a bit too close to home and he'd taken them to heart. He knew he'd decided to go back and find out what it was, to see if there was anything he could do to help, when he felt the weight lift from his shoulders. If she really had meant the things she'd said, he'd deal with it then. If not, then together they could face whatever it was. He'd surf with the boys the next day and then pack up the camp earlier than he'd planned. By this time tomorrow night, he, and Annie, would be back on the estate and would know where they stood. He dropped off to sleep quickly, Annie keeping watch over him.

~,~,~, ~

Malihini - tourist

Nā kaiāulu – locals

Aloha kakahiaka – good morning

Haole - individuals who are not Native Hawaiian or Polynesian, usually white people.

Ho'okipa – hospitality

Mahalo – thank you

Noʻu ka hauʻoli – you're welcome


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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Rick was twitchy and he wasn't sure why. Every time he sat down to get some work done, he was up again within seconds. He knew he was driving his staff crazy. He paced around his office and tried to figure out what was going on. Thinking back on the day, he realized it had begun just after getting Thomas's text. It was innocuous enough, so what was bothering him? He was just about to pick up his phone and call T.C., when it rang. A shiver ran through him when he read the caller id. Why was Higgins calling him? Usually, it was never good news.

"Higgins?"

"Rick, have you seen Magnum?"

"No, but then I didn't expect to. He sent me and T.C. a text earlier that he was going out of town and would be off the grid. Why? He didn't let you know he was going?"

"No, he did not, and I need to speak with him." She'd been watching for him to return to Robin's Nest so that she could apologize and let him know about Ian. When Kumu had come by earlier in the day and she'd had to admit that she hadn't been able to square things with the private investigator, the older woman had frowned and then stuck around, almost as if she was nervous about something. It was infectious and now she was vaguely worried as well. "Did he say where he was going?"

"No, just out of town and he'd back in a few days. Higgy, what's going on?"

"Can you and T.C. come out to the estate? I don't want to talk about this on the phone."

"You're making me nervous."

"Good." She doubted Ian would come to Hawaii to get revenge on her and Magnum, he was smart enough to head for a non-extradition country. Still, she wasn't going to leave anything to chance. The boys needed to know and make their own decisions.

"Juliet…"

"Please Rick, just come out here."

"Okay, let me get hold of Theodore." Higgins was not one to ask something like this without a damn good reason. He said his good byes and immediately dialed his friend.

"Yo, Orville. What's up buddy?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just finished up my last client of the day and was going to work with Shammy on the chopper. Why?"

"Higgins wants us to come out to the estate, now. She says she needs to talk to Thomas and won't tell me why over the phone. Something's got her spooked and you know that ain't easy."

"You think this is about our boy?"

"I don't know what to think, but she was agitated that she couldn't reach him and that we can't either."

"Come get me."

"On my way." He hung up and made a beeline for the door, grabbing his keys off the desk as he went. He paused only long enough to let the floor manager know he was leaving and pretended not to notice the sigh of relief that followed his announcement. He speed walked to the Porsche and quickly got it pointed toward Island Hoppers. When he pulled up, T.C. was already waiting outside, Shammy at his side. He stopped and got out for a moment, leaning on the roof.

"Shammy, how ya doin' buddy?"

"Good, Rick, real good. Do you have any idea what's up with Magnum?" Shammy had been enfolded into their little family and Rick could see the worry on his face.

"Not sure my man, but we're going to find out." He looked at T.C. "You ready to go big guy?"

"You bet. Shammy…"

"I'll take care of things here. Let me know whatever you find out."

"Will do. Thanks man." T.C. levered himself into the passenger seat of the sports car and Rick got back into the driver's seat. If he pealed out a little quicker than he should, neither one mentioned it. The ride to Robin's Nest was quiet, each man uneasy with his own thoughts. As they neared the estate, Rick finally broke the silence.

"Anything about Thomas's message set off any alarms?"

"Not really, why?"

"Something's been bothering me all day, but I can't put my finger on it. Just a gut feeling something's not right."

T.C. frowned. If there was one thing he'd learned from their time in Afghanistan, it was to listen to Orville Wright's gut. It'd saved them more than once. He wondered what Magnum had gotten into this time. The gates appeared and Rick slowed down to enter the code, only to have them start to open without needing to. That meant Higgins had been watching for them and that ramped up the worry even more. Rick parked in front of the main house and both men got out. Turning to go in, they found the two women waiting for them. They exchanged looks and Rick sighed. Moving up the walk, he was the first to break the silence.

"Juliet, what the hell is going on?" When he used her given name instead of his normal nickname, she knew the man wasn't fooling around. She'd learned that much over the last year. They might joke around and appear to be boys who didn't take life seriously, but she'd seen them in action and knew they were extremely competent men, Magnum included, no matter how she teased them. She felt a wave of relief wash over her that was disproportionate to the situation. She really was more concerned than she'd thought.

"Come inside and I'll tell you everything." She turned and the men followed her, both stopping to give Kumu a hug, ones she returned.

"Okay, we're inside. Out with it." Rick could sit in a sniper's nest for hours, waiting and watching for his target, but when something threatened his friends, the family he'd made, he had no patience whatsoever.

"Actually…" Higgins paused, not sure how to admit that she'd outright accused their 'brother' of being inept and a leech. "Look, I got bad news yesterday afternoon and I'm afraid I took it out on Magnum."

"What news and how?" T.C. asked gently. Of the three, he was the biggest and most intimidating looking but was actually a big teddy bear.

"Ian Pryce escaped MI6 custody and killed two agents while doing so. One of them was a friend of mine. A good man with a young family. I've been to his house for dinner, played with his kids. I…" Her voice broke. T.C. and Rick both took up positions close to her, giving her their unspoken support. She wondered how long that would last when she told them the rest.

"Go on Jules." Rick said quietly.

"I started to think Marcus would still be alive, that his kids wouldn't be fatherless, if I'd just killed Ian when I had the chance and then Magnum came in. He didn't know, he had no idea. I still don't even know what it was that he wanted. All I know is that I lashed out at him in anger and said some hurtful things. Things I didn't mean. He was just there and all I could think was that it was his fault. That he stopped me from taking care of business and now two good men were dead."

"Higgins, you aren't a cold-blooded killer." Rick echoed Kumu's words from the day before. "I know you can kill when it's needed, but in that situation, it wasn't. Even if Magnum hadn't been there, I'm convinced you still would have done the right thing." He wasn't sure he would have.

"What did you say to him Higgins?" T.C. asked.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself and then spoke. "That he was a leech, that he used me and the two of you to solve cases he took but was too inept to solve on his own. That he was interfering with our jobs, with Katsumoto's job. I may also have implied that he was using Robin." Even saying the words out loud made her feel two inches tall. She continued quickly, not letting them respond. "I knew it was all lies as I said it, but I was upset, and he was just…there."

"What did he say?" Rick had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and he finally had an idea of what was bothering him all day.

"Just one word. Understood. Then he turned and left. When I figured enough time had gone by for both of us to calm down, I went over to the guest house to apologize. To tell him that I was glad he involved me in his cases, that I've felt more alive in the last year than I have since I was disavowed. He wasn't there and didn't come back even though I waited over an hour. I came back to the main house but kept an eye out. I never saw him return before I finally went to bed. The next thing I knew, he was driving the Ferrari through the gate in the morning. I'd missed my chance. I watched for him to return, but when he did, he wasn't alone. He was with a blonde woman. I thought they'd go inside and hole up. However, she never went in and he was back out in just a few minutes. He drove them away in her jeep and I haven't seen him since."

"Higgins…" The disappointment in T.C.'s voice was a knife to the heart.

She held up her hand and interrupted him. "There's nothing you can say to me that I haven't already said to myself."

Rick had started pacing as she told them what had happened. He wasn't angry with her, at least not much. He knew how it felt to lose a friend, to know that their life was taken in an unnecessary act of violence. He'd lashed out a few times himself, most recently after Nuzo went and got himself killed. This was different though, she'd lashed out at someone who took helping people very seriously. To hear someone he cared about, say those things to him, would have churned things up inside his friend. Things long hoped buried in the desert of another country, although they all had the nightmares to prove that that hope wasn't quite panning out. He stopped and looked at T.C. with a frown.

"Don't worry about me." He said quietly. He waited for his friend to realize what it meant. He knew when it did when the big guy closed his eyes and sighed.

"Mother's Day?"

"Maybe."

"What are you two talking about? Mother's Day was almost two months ago." Higgins was lost.

Rick shook his head. "Not this one, the one after we escaped from the Taliban. While we were being held, Thomas's mom got sick and died. He never got to say goodbye and he missed the funeral. She died not knowing if her son was dead or alive. We spent some time in a hospital in Afghanistan and then they shipped us to Germany. We were there for a while as well. There were some mandatory therapy sessions. When we were done, the therapist recommended we get a few days R&R before they shipped us home. Before the reality of being back in the states hit us right between the eyes. Command agreed and we headed into town for some down time. We were able to find a suite with four rooms and a shared space. Not exactly the Hilton, but clean and cheap. Planned on taking in some of the sights, pretend that we were just some tourists on vacation. We checked in the Friday before Mother's Day, had dinner and crashed. Thomas was gone by the next morning, took everything with him. He left a note that told us not worry about him. We went looking anyway but couldn't find him. He'd gone to ground."

"AWOL?" Kumu asked, surprised.

"No, we were on R&R, free to go where we wanted, within reason. As long as he was back in time to report for duty when we were supposed to, he wouldn't be in trouble." T.C. took up the narrative. "For the next three days, Rick and I searched everywhere we could think of, while Nuzo waited in that room for him to show up. Then it was time to report in and ship out, so we had to leave without him. Nuzo was all for going against orders and staying put, but we didn't have any idea what had happened to him. Nothing to go on."

"Until we got in the bus, that is." Rick chimed in. "Walked up the ramp and there was Thomas. Already there and strapped in. One look at his face was enough to stop us from grilling him on where he'd been or reading him the riot act for worrying us sick. He was pale and looked like he'd lost even more weight. We never really did talk about it. He did what he felt he needed to, and he came back to us. That was good enough for the three of us."

"You think he's done this again? It hardly seems like the same situation." Higgins frowned as she said it.

"This is a new normal for Thomas. After all the times in the hole, you would think he'd never want to be alone again. Instead, when he has something he needs to work out, something personal, he isolates himself. Drives us crazy."

"That didn't happen when Hannah showed back up in his life."

"That was different, she threatened all of us. This was just about him, your opinion of him and what he most likely now worries is everyone else's. He considers you family, Juliet, and you wounded him. A wounded animal will hide and lick its wounds in private." T.C said.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!" If she sounded whiny, she put it down to exhaustion and worry.

Rick put a hand on her shoulder. "We know that, and Thomas will figure it out on his own. When he does, he'll be back. He's pretty thick skinned but some things hit him harder than others. Accusations like you threw at him, call into question things that are central to the core of what he is, what he's become." He pursed his lips. "You have a key to the guest house, right?"

"Yes, but it's for emergencies only."

"Well, this might be one."

"You just said that he'll figure things out and come back."

"He might come back, but he might not come back here." T.C. said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's just go and check it out." Rick said, not really answering. He had a feeling Higgins knew exactly what he was talking about, even if she was in denial.

"I don't want to do this! It's an invasion of his privacy." Juliet dug her heels in.

"If I'm right, there won't be anything to invade." Rick responded and T.C. frowned. "Come on, Higgy, what harm will it do?" He used his favorite nickname for her, one the others had begun to use as well, trying to charm his way around her.

She wavered. "Alright, but we only stick our noses in! No ferreting around, do you hear me?"

"Sure thing." Two voices answered. She shook her head and left to go to the office, pulling out the major domo master key set. As she walked back, she went through them until she found the one for the guest house. She looked up to find three very determined faces staring back at her. Apparently Kumu had decided she wasn't going to be left behind. It was a quiet group who walked across the lawn to where Magnum lived. She tried the door first, finding it locked. She put the key in the lock and turned it. Pushing gently on the door, she walked in and stopped just over the threshold, her stomach taking a nose dive. The place felt deserted. She'd never noticed how the man's presence had filled the space up, had it made the place feel homey and lived in. Now it felt…sterile.

"Thomas?" Rick yelled out, knowing that there'd be no answer. His sharp eyes took in the room, noticing the lack of anything personal, not that Thomas had much. He saw the keys on the table at the same time T.C. did. He walked over and picked them up, instantly recognizing them. He walked over and handed them to Higgins.

She took them and swallowed hard. "These are the keys to the cars and to the house. He left them?"

T.C had started to move through the house. He opened cabinets in the kitchen, not finding so much as a crumb. The refrigerator was empty and spotless. He moved quietly into the room Thomas had claimed as his bedroom and opened the closet. It was completely empty. The dress whites were gone and so was their friend. He turned to find the other three standing in the door, similar looks of shock on their faces. Higgins broke the silence.

"How…when…he was only home for a short time; how did he move everything out so quickly?"

"He doesn't own much, Higgy." Rick said quietly.

"Why is that?" She'd never understood it. He'd shown up on the estate's door step as their new security consultant with a small bag that contained everything he owned in the world, although the uniform had shown up later. Even after a year of living on the estate, he hadn't accumulated much beyond his surfboard. She wasn't a pack rat by any means, but still, she had mementos of various places she'd gone, people she'd known, family.

T.C. was the one who answered her, saying softly. "When you don't have much, it doesn't hurt so much when it all gets ripped away."

She opened her mouth to respond but her phone rang, stopping her. She looked at the caller id and then up at those watching her. "It's my contact at MI6."

"Answer it." Rick said. She nodded and accepted the call.

"Peter, what's going on?" She said by way of greeting. Her face paled as she listened. "Why would he do _that_?" She listened some more. "That doesn't make sense, he's smarter than that!" She didn't say anything for a bit, then finally nodded, even though the man on the other side couldn't see her. "I will and I'll make sure he does as well. Peter, thank you for keeping me in the loop. I owe you one." She hung up and turned to them.

"Ian Pryce was spotted at the airport in Honolulu. He's in Hawaii.

~,~,~,~,~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – FYI, this is set (in my mind anyways) towards the end of the season but before the season finale.

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Chapter 4

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Rick stared at Higgins. "Why in the _world_ would he come back here? He's not stupid enough to risk everything to escape and then chance getting caught again, just for _revenge_, is he?"

"I didn't think so." Higgins responded quietly, once again sure that she'd never really known Ian.

"Even if both the U.S. and England froze whatever accounts and assets they could find, I can't believe he wouldn't have had money squirreled away _somewhere_ for just such a contingency. He must have made millions as an assassin. He could use that to live large in pretty much any non-extradition country." T.C. said.

"My thoughts exactly!" She wasn't surprised to hear them voice the thoughts she'd already had, and she really didn't have the answers. She'd kept abreast of things at MI6 through a secure email address that only the few people, those who hadn't turned their backs on her, used. Peter being one of them. He'd given her information yesterday that could be considered a breach of National Security, but he'd done it because he knew what it meant to her. For him to then risk a direct phone call, meant he was either very worried or just plain angry about Marcus and Agent Carson Fowler, an agent she'd never met but whose death she still mourned. "What I _do_ think, is that the agency isn't going to take this lying down. I can guarantee there is already a manhunt underway. Don't be surprised to shortly find yourself knee deep in MI6 agents, gents."

Rick gave her a quick smile at the image, as she'd hoped. However, it disappeared quickly behind a frown as he stared out the window at the darkening sky. "There's not enough light to search for him tonight. By the time we got back to Island Hoppers and got the bird up in the air, we wouldn't be able to see anything." T.C. followed his gaze and nodded in agreement.

"Oahu is an awfully big island. How do you think you're going to find one man, especially if he doesn't want to be found?" Juliet asked.

Surprisingly, it was Kumu who answered. "He'll be wherever there's water and not the big beaches. Somewhere secluded and off the beaten track."

Juliet shook her head. "Again, it's a big island, surrounded by beaches, not all of which are developed. He could be anywhere."

T.C. and Rick exchanged a look. "We'll find him." His tone was sincere and confident. "Look, let's go back to the main house and strategize." He looked around at the empty house, missing his friend and feeling creeped out about being there.

Kumu nodded. "I'll put on a pot of coffee and get some of my reference books from the Cultural Center. They might help you narrow down where to search."

"Thanks, Kumu." Rick replied, the others nodding theirs thanks as well.

Just as silently as they'd walked to the guest house, they walked back to the main one. Once inside, however, it was like a dam burst, all of them talking at once, making suggestions, asking questions. Eventually, Juliet put her fingers to her lips and whistled, instantly silencing the room. "Kumu? That coffee and the books you mentioned?" The older woman nodded and bustled out of the room. She turned to Rick and T.C. "Now, is there anything you can think of that would narrow down where he might have gone?"

"Wait." Rick snapped his fingers a few times and she raised a well-shaped eyebrow, which he totally ignored. "Didn't you say that he came back with a woman this morning? A blonde?"

"Yes."

"Then, let us take a look at the footage. Maybe T.C. or I will recognize her. If we do, she might know where he is."

She nodded and led the way to the laptop. Once it was booted up and her password entered, she accessed the security camera footage. She had to admit, Magnum had done a great job upgrading the security on the estate. Winding backwards, she found the time and angle she was looking for and froze it on the woman's face as the Jeep followed the Ferrari through the gates that morning. She swiveled the laptop to face the two men. Both looked at it closely, as Kumu reentered the room and quietly put coffee mugs near each of them. Rick reached out and grabbed his, without taking his eyes off the laptop.

"Nope, don't know her." T.C. said. When Rick didn't say anything, just kept staring at the screen as he sipped the hot brew, he asked. "Rick? You got something?"

"Maybe. She looks familiar, but I just can't place her. Now is the time we could use Tommy's memory." Juliet opened her mouth to say something snarky and then decided she'd done enough of that lately, even if it would've been meant in a teasing manner. She didn't think any of them were in the mood for it. The smaller man continued to stare at the image on the screen. Suddenly his head shot up. "I got it! Her name's Erica something or other and she works for Eddie Heller!"

"At the used car lot he owns?" T.C. asked.

"Yeah." Rick answered.

"Who is Eddie Heller?" Juliet asked.

"He's a retired marine, came here just after he got out and opened up a car dealership. He's real old school, likes the older cars, so used it was. Can't stand the new ones with all those computer chips. Says you can't get in and get your hands dirty."

"My lord, did I say knee deep in MI6 agents? Hawaii is already chin deep in marines and sailors." She muttered under her breath. Louder, she said. "Well, that explains the Jeep. But, how did Thomas get the money to buy a car? He's notoriously broke."

"Thomas may never have money, Higgy, but he's not broke."

"What? That makes no sense at all!"

"Look, for a little over 18 months, none of us had anywhere to blow our paychecks, you know? How do you think Nuzo could afford to open his salvage business? T.C. to open Island Hoppers? None of us exactly come from old, or even new, money. It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to get us started. Thomas, though…Thomas won't touch that money without a damn good reason." Juliet pretended not to notice he hadn't included himself in the list of businesses the friends had started. She knew he drove flashy cars and wore expensive watches. She still wasn't sure whether he owned the King Kamehameha Club or just managed it. She wondered if, instead of investing in a business, he'd just blown it all, but it wasn't her place to question him, just like she hadn't felt it was her place to investigate the ownership of the club. What they'd gone through, she wouldn't wish on almost anyone. She refocused on what he'd said.

"Why ever not? He earned that money! You all did, and then some!"

"Maybe, but in his mind it's a reminder of a time he'd like to forget." T.C. answered and he raised his head to look her in the eyes. "And someone…."

"Oh…I…I didn't think of it like that." She replied quietly. "Hannah betrayed him, and all of you, for money. Then tried to kill him again over those damn gold bricks. Greed, avarice, whatever."

"Yeah, whatever." T.C. sounded sad. She knew that they'd all loved the woman, him and Rick as a sister but Magnum, Magnum had been deeply in love, enough so that he was going to ask her to marry him. She didn't think he could yet wrap his mind around what she'd done to him and the others. For him, there was nothing that would have led him to do what she did. He was like a loyal dog, a Labrador Retriever maybe. She shook herself out of her musings, images of a black dog with floppy ears, a lolling tongue and Magnum's eyes, leaving her with some difficulty. She tuned back in again, to find Rick thumbing through the contact list on his phone. She'd seen it a couple times and couldn't understand how one person could know that many people or how he kept track of them all. When he muttered an 'ah ha', she figured he'd found what he was looking for. He pushed the dial button and held the phone up to his ear.

"Rick Wright! To what do I owe this call?" Eddie had picked up the phone, caller id showing who it was, knowing full well that the other man was calling about one Thomas Magnum.

"Hey Eddie, long time no talk! Look, I hate to do this, but this isn't a social call. I'm calling to ask if you know anything about…"

"Thomas?" Eddie interrupted.

"Yeah, how did you know?" He exchanged looks with the rest of them, all of them looking puzzled.

"I may be old, Rick, but I'm not stupid. I knew something was up with that boy, especially when I saw he was carting around his dress whites."

"Oh. Well, yeah, that's what I'm calling about."

"What's going on Rick?"

"Thomas was involved in putting someone in jail. That guy escaped yesterday morning and we're worried he might come after T.M. We need to reach him but he's off grid."

"That doesn't explain why he _went_ off grid. From what you just told me, he knows nothing about this guy and things had obviously already gone sideways."

"He seemed that off to you?" Everyone perked up at his side of the conversation, worry evident on their faces.

"I know the boy, Rick. It wasn't much, but it was enough."

"Look, Eddie, we really need to find him. Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No, didn't say a word. About pretty much anything, except his job and how you guys were doing."

"Ok, how about the Jeep? Was that Erica's or did he buy it?"

"I won't even ask how you knew Erica was with him. He's got it on loan, to see if it's something he wants to buy. He'll be back here in three days. Can it wait until then?"

"You gave him a _loaner_?" Rick asked incredulously. T.C.'s jaw dropped open.

"Focus, Marine!" Eddie barked out.

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir!" Was his instant reaction as he unconsciously straightened, almost saluting. The man had never been his commanding officer, but he'd reacted instinctively to that tone of voice.

"Now, Rick, what do you want from me? I've already told you that Thomas didn't say anything to me."

"What about Erica? She followed him out here and he drove her back. Do you think she might know anything?"

"I know she doesn't, she hounded me for information about him all day. Daft girl."

Rick had to smile and when T.C. raised his eyebrows at him, he mouthed. 'Tell you later.'

"Okay, how about the car? Is it LoJacked? Can we track it that way?"

"Sorry, Rick, that's a nonstarter. Not installed."

"Damn. Can you at least give me the plate number?" Worse came to worse, they could have Katsumoto put out a BOLO out on it. When Eddie rattled it off, he grabbed a pen and Juliet slipped a piece of scrap paper under it. He wrote it down quickly. "Thanks, Eddie. Ok, well, if you can think of anything, anything at all, you call me, understood? If he shows up there early, you call me, and you don't let him leave. Okay?"

"Will do." There was a pause. "You're a good friend Orville Wright."

"So's Thomas, Eddie. The best." They hung up and the others clamored for information, of which he had precious little other than the plate number. They debated contacting the HPD Detective now or in the morning. Juliet decided sooner was better than later, so picked up the house phone and dialed him herself.

"Detective Katsumoto please." She said when the phone was answered.

While she was waiting, T.C. put a hand on her arm and she looked at him with a question. "Juliet, Thomas's reasons for not being here have no bearing on anything."

"Understood." And she did. While Magnum may play the fool at times, he was actually a very proud man.

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Detective Gordon Katsumoto stared down at the picture that had been faxed to the HPD less than an hour earlier. The face staring up was familiar and he felt his detective's hackles rise. There was only one reason why he would be in Honolulu. Actually, there were two, one of whom was a major pain in his butt. Adding to his uneasiness was the delay in notifying them. The man had been on the run since the day before. If an alert had immediately gone out to all U.S. police departments, he would have had people watching the airport, knowing the fugitive had ties here. Ties that he might just be looking to eliminate. If he'd had the chance, this might already be over. Damn the intelligence community and their keeping their secrets from the police.

He looked up when Sergeant Palakiko waved to get his attention. When she caught his eye, she mimed he had a phone call and he nodded. As he picked up the extension, he recognized the caller id. Robin's Nest. Why wouldn't Magnum be calling him on his cell? Not that he hadn't given the man his number in a moment of weakness, but if dragging him into the P.I.'s cases was going to become a habit, he didn't want the police personnel to become his private answering service. Sighing, knowing he'd been about to contact them anyway, he picked up the handset.

"What do you want Magnum?" He asked in his usual way of saying hello to the P.I.

"Actually, it's Juliet, Detective. Do you have a moment?"

"Is this about Ian Pryce?"

"How did you know?"

"We've finally been notified that he escaped more than 24 hours ago and that he's been seen on _my_ island. What _is_ it with you agency people? We need to work together!" He felt justified in his anger.

"I'm sorry, I just found out myself last night."

"And you neglected to tell me? To tell HPD?"

"I never thought he'd come back here! I was sure he'd head somewhere we'd never be able to get to him…legally."

He heard the honesty in her voice and calmed down. "Ok, ok. Look, we have a BOLO, armed and dangerous, already out on him. Until he's caught, I think you, Magnum, Wright and Calvin should stay on the estate. It's well protected and should keep you somewhat safe."

"It didn't stop him from getting in here before."

"I know, that's why I'll be on my way shortly with some of my men. They'll set up a perimeter and keep watch. I just need you four to stay put. No running around trying to catch him yourselves, do you understand me?"

"I do. However, there might be a slight problem with that."

He sighed. "Isn't there always? What now?"

"Magnum isn't here. He has no idea that Ian is loose, let alone on the island."

"Well, where is he? Call him and get him back there!"

"I'd like nothing more, however, none of us know where he is."

That brought him up short. For Wright and Calvin not to know where Magnum was for any length of time, spoke volumes that something else was going on. "Why?"

"He's just gone…walkabout."

"Walkabout? What, is he channeling Crocodile Dundee now?" There was silence on the other end. He wasn't sure if she was stunned that he got the movie reference or if she was trying to figure out what lie to tell him. "Look, never mind. I'm on my way out there. It should be no more than an hour."

"Thank you. I'll be watching for you. We'll see you soon."

"Yeah." He hung up and shook his head. He couldn't figure out how the three men, and recently the British major domo, had gotten under his skin, but they had. He found himself worrying about their safety, beyond the worry he would have for any citizen. If those four were becoming his friends, God help him.

He stood up and cleared the protection duty with his boss. The man may not like Magnum, but he knew there was a clear danger and authorized it, not bothering to ask why Katsumoto, himself, was also going, something the man appreciated. There was a caravan of five cars that pulled up to the estate gates just under the promised hour. The gates opened and the detective gave orders for the others to patrol the area, never letting the grounds out of sight, to call in any sightings and not take the man on themselves, stressing that he was a trained killer and he wanted no heroics that ended in his having to do a family notification. Satisfied that he had put the fear of God in them, he drove up towards the main house. He can't say he was surprised to find all three, plus Kumu, waiting for him outside. Even the dogs were present.

He got out and stared at them but not one gave anything away. He sighed. Great, just great. "Okay, inside, all of you."

Once inside, Juliet stuck out her hand. "Detective, thank you so much for coming." He took it and squeezed. He knew she'd been hit hard by who Ian Pryce had turned out to be, that she had felt betrayed and beyond angry at the things he'd done, all for money. Besides, he liked her. Still, he had a reputation to uphold.

"Well, much as I may not like it, Magnum _is_ a citizen of Honolulu and under my protection. Now, where the hell is he?"

Rick spoke up, offering his hand as well. "We really don't know. He left yesterday with a text that he was going out of town and would be off grid. We haven't been able to reach him." Thomas wasn't going to be happy to find out his cell phone answering service was now full, all with messages from one of them. It was reminiscent of when he'd been taken by Hannah's goons.

"Great. Well, I suppose I could put out a BOLO on him as well."

"He's not a criminal, Detective." Juliet responded, not liking the sound of that.

"A BOLO doesn't necessarily mean you're a criminal. It can also just mean that the person we're searching for is lost or missing. We need to find Magnum as soon as possible and it's the most efficient way of doing so. I'll make sure it indicates he's _in_ danger, not that he _is_ the danger. Although sometimes, I don't know how you tell the difference with that man."

"We have the license plate number of the Jeep he's driving." Rick handed him the piece of paper. He'd been hoping HPD would issue the BOLO. When either of his buddies were out of touch for more than a few hours, it set him on edge. He wanted Thomas back here ASAP so that he could keep an eye on him. And on Higgy, of course. If Pryce really was here on a revenge tour, both of them were in danger. They'd been instrumental in uncovering his identity, shutting him down and putting him in custody. Not that that had lasted all that long.

Katsumoto took the paper and called it in. He made sure to emphasize that Thomas Magnum was not to be harmed in any way. He hung up and raised an eyebrow. "Satisfied?" Nods all around. "Okay, then, what were you doing when I got here?"

Rick pointed to the table laden with books Kumu had brought in. "We were hoping to get an idea from some of these books as to where the best place to start looking for him would be. They came from the Cultural Center and are pretty detailed about the island geography."

"Do you have a starting point?"

"Not really, not yet. All we're sure of is that he's most likely on the water and probably surfing. Kumu believes, and we agree with her, that it won't be one of the public beaches."

"That still leaves a lot of space to cover."

"Rick and I are going up in the bird at first light." T.C. said. The detective sighed. He didn't like it when private citizens got involved in police business, but he was also aware that these two knew Magnum better than any other human on the planet. If anyone could sniff him out, it would be them. Even though they hadn't filled him in on what had sent the man 'walkabout', he knew something else was up. If he didn't want to be found, for _whatever_ reason, they were the best bet to get this resolved and Magnum under police protection, as quickly as possible.

"Okay, let's get to work and set up a plan of attack." He took a seat at the table and pulled one of the books towards him. The others followed suit and it was quiet for a long time, the silence only broken when one of them called out a suggestion based on something they read, T.C. marking it on a map and arguing with Rick about the logistics of how to cover the most amount of ground in the least amount of time. They worked late into the night and eventually had a concise plan for the aerial reconnaissance. Katsumoto had to admit, the other two men had impressed him. He wondered if the military instilled this in them or if they went into service with it. Either way, it was a useful skill. They all agreed to get some much-needed sleep. Katsumoto camped out on the couch, while Rick and T.C. took their leave, neither one admitting that they were going to sleep at Island Hoppers so they'd be ready first thing in the morning. Juliet wanted to go with them, but the detective overrode her. He needed her to stay put and under protection, reasoning with her that splitting their attention between finding Magnum and keeping her safe, was counterproductive. She hadn't been pleased but had, begrudgingly, admitted he was right. It was not a peaceful night for any of them.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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Magnum woke up early, having slept deep and undisturbed. He wondered if it was Annie's presence, the fresh air, the fact that he'd made his decision or just plain old simple exhaustion. Getting up, he decided to go for a run before the boys showed up. He dressed quickly and exited the tent, Annie on his heels. He'd scouted a little the day before when he was gathering wood and had an idea of where his route would take him. The little dog ran with him, sometimes distracted by something in the woods, but always returning to him, never going far. He ran until he judged he'd need to turn around and be back at his camp in time to make breakfast for his newly made friends. As he got closer, he slowed to a walk to cool down. He heard the voices before he saw them and quietly entered the camp site from behind them. The boys were at the back of the jeep, looking in.

"What is it?" Hani asked.

"I think it's a uniform." Alika replied.

"He's a cop?" Hani sounded scared.

"Nah, I think it's some kind of military." Kukane said, pressing his nose up against the glass.

"Navy, actually." Magnum said from behind them, causing the boys to jump and swing around.

"We weren't going to take anything." Alika recovered quickest and sounded defensive.

"I never thought you were. Curiosity isn't a bad thing." Thomas smiled at him and the boy relaxed.

"So, you're in the Navy?" Hani asked.

"I was. SEALs. I retired a little while ago."

"A SEAL? I've heard of them!" The young boy's eyes shone with something approaching hero worship that made Magnum uncomfortable.

"Aren't you too young to be retired?" Kukane's voice held only curiosity.

"I was medically discharged."

Hani asked. "What do you do now?"

"I'm a private investigator."

The boy's eyes lit up. "You mean like Jim Rockford on the Rockford Files?"

Magnum laughed. "Yeah, like Rockford." He was surprised the boy hadn't picked a more current show, like that Canadian one with Jason Priestly, Private Eyes.

Alika smirked at him. "So, you sneak around and take pictures of husbands cheating on their wives?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes it's wives cheating on their husbands." He teased.

"Sounds boring." Kukane chimed in.

"It can be. It can be a lot of just sitting in the car, watching and waiting. Other times, my job can be very exciting." And dangerous he added in his head.

"What was your most interesting case?" Hani asked excitedly.

Magnum began moving around the camp, starting the fire and getting ready to cook breakfast as he thought on how to answer. The boys settled into what had become their spots around the fire pit. Finally, he settled on one case. "I've had a couple, but one of my most interesting ones was when I was hired by a man to find his killer."

"What? How?" Alika asked, curious despite himself.

"He thought someone was out to hurt him. He videotaped his request and had it set up to be delivered to me if something happened to him. He was killed in a car accident and I got the thumb drive in the mail."

Hani frowned. "So, if he was in a car accident, then no one was really trying to kill him, were they?"

"Actually, I thought it was suspicious. In the end, it turned out that he had the accident because he was poisoned." Magnum finished prepping the last of the eggs and threw the mixture into the hot pan.

"Did you find out who poisoned him?" Kukane asked and the other boys leaned forward with interest, eagerly waiting for the answer.

Stirring the eggs, Magnum remembered the case and Larry's sister. How sad she'd been. "Yeah, we did. I had help from some friends and we figured out it was the guy who used to live in Larry's apartment. He was a criminal and in jail. Turned out he'd hidden a gun he'd used in several murders in the wall. The building was about to be renovated and he was worried it would be found and traced back to him. He had the poor guy killed so one of his men could get in and retrieve the weapon, but he was looking in the wrong place and we caught him. Now they're both doing time and several families have closure, knowing the man who hurt their loved ones is behind bars for a very long time." He didn't talk about the gun fight or the other people who'd died that day, one of them almost him. "Now, let's eat!" He dished out the eggs and there was silence while they ate.

Hani finished first. "That was good!"

"I'm glad you liked it." Thomas smiled at the boy as he ate his own eggs at a more deliberate pace, sharing it with Annie.

Alika tilted his head at Magnum as he finished his own meal. "When you were a SEAL, where were you stationed?"

"Mostly Afghanistan." He wondered where this was going.

"The bad men, the ones who hurt you? Taliban?"

Magnum didn't want to go there but he wasn't going to lie to the boys. "Yeah."

"How'd they get you?" The boy was certainly persistent.

He sighed. "We were betrayed by someone we trusted. My team was ambushed and captured. The Taliban _really_ doesn't like American soldiers." He hoped that was where it would stop but it wasn't.

"How long did they keep you?" Alika pressed.

"Eighteen months and eleven days." He said instantly, wishing he didn't remember that so well.

"That's a long time." Alika said quietly. "You got out. Did your team?"

"They did. We all escaped together. None of us would have left one of the others behind."

"That's good." The older boy said, smiling. "You guys still friends?"

"No, we're family." He held up his hand and showed them the ring. "We all wear this ring. It's a symbol of everything we went through and that we never gave up."

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Kukane said quietly.

"Thank you."

Alika looked at him seriously. "That's why you do what you do now. You want to help people."

"You're a smart kid, Alika."

Hani laughed. "Our dad says he's too smart for his own good."

Alika shot up and yelled at his little brother. "He's NOT our dad!"

Hani shrank in on himself. "I know, I know, I'm sorry."

Kukane stood up. "Alika, it's not his fault! He was just a baby when dad died. Joe's the only father he's ever known."

"He's no father!" Alika turned, grabbed his board and ran for the water, Hani on his heels. Kukane watched them go, sadness on his face. He turned back to Magnum.

"I'm sorry for that." He said softly.

"What was that all about?" Magnum asked, worried about his new friends.

"Our dad died when Hani was just a baby. I was three and Alika was seven. Even I have a hard time remembering him but Alika, Alika has strong memories of him." He paused. "Joe's not a good guy. He's into drugs and he got our mom hooked. Now, we try to stay out of both their ways. Neither of them care where we are except that we're not at the house, bothering them." He gestured at the beach. "We come here as much as we can, when schools out. When Alika turns eighteen in three years, he's going to get a job and find a place to live where we can all stay, try to get custody of us. Mom and Joe won't be happy. They're on welfare and get money from the state for each of us. Money that goes towards their drugs."

"I had no idea. Have you tried talking to your school counselor?" Magnum was already working things in his head, wondering how he could help the boys. At least now he knew why the boys never seemed to have any food with them for the long day spent surfing.

"Joe threatened to hurt mom if we ever spoke to anyone in authority. He'd do it too. Besides, even if we did, what would the authorities do? Take us out of there and put us in foster care? We don't have any family who would take us in. Most likely, we'd be separated and that's _not_ going to happen. We just have to hang on for three more years." Kukane sounded way too grown up and Thomas's heart went out to him, as his desire to help ramped up. The boy stood up and picked up his board, obviously done talking about this and, by the look on his face, regretting what he'd already said. "Come on, the waves look great!" He turned and headed into the water, making for his brothers, who appeared to have made up, if the horsing around out in the water was any indication.

"I'm just going to clean up the camp and change, I'll join you in a minute." Thomas called out. Kukane just waved.

He looked down at the small dog as his feet. "We need to do something about this, Annie." The dog grinned up at him, just happy to be where he was. Sighing, he leaned down and picked up the pan to wash it. When the camp was policed, he slipped into the tent to put on his board shorts and another tank top, running a list of people through his head, wondering if any of them could help. Katsumoto was at the top of that list, along with Kumu. He had a feeling the boys would never forgive him if he got the cops involved. He began plotting how he could get the stepfather arrested on drug charges and out of the house, without it leading back to him. He knew Rick had some shady contacts, maybe one of them could help. Kumu knew a lot of people on the island and was involved in so many good works. She might have some ideas. He picked up his board, gave the dog a pat on the head and entered the water, paddling out beyond the swells where the boys waited.

They spent the morning surfing and Thomas tried to find out more information on the boy's family life, but it was like all three had decided that the confrontation that morning, and the resulting sharing of confidences with Kukane, had never happened. He really couldn't blame them. They were young and at the mercy of their parents or the authorities. Their life wasn't the best, but at least they were together and had each other. If the authorities stepped in, Kukane was right, they would probably be sent to different places, something he was sure was not the best thing for the boys.

They were tiring and just about to head in for some lunch, when Hani pointed to the left. "That helicopter is flying kind of low." Magnum turned to where he was pointing and sighed. He'd know that orange, yellow and brown bird anywhere. They'd found him. He was angry that they hadn't listened to his wishes and just let him be to work things out by himself. He knew his text hadn't been explicit, but his friends knew him well enough to know when he wanted to be left alone.

"Let's head in." He said as he stood up on his board and caught a wave.

Up in the air, Rick lowered the binoculars and frowned. "Can't be him, there's four of them." T.C. sighed and stared down at the dark-haired man surfing with the three younger boys, disappointed. Still, something looked familiar.

"You sure, Rick? That guy sure looks like Thomas, even surfs like him."

Rick raised the binoculars again, confident in his friend's powers of observation. He watched the man surf to the beach and walk out of the water, patting the head of a dog who was waiting on him. The frown was back. "It sure looks like T.M., but with three kids _and_ a dog?"

"It's Thomas, who knows?"

Rick continued to train the binoculars on the man as he turned and raised a hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes. "It _is_ him!"

"About time!" T.C. was tired, they'd been up in the air since dawn for the second day in a row, checking out beach after beach, and he was getting low on fuel, _again_. They would have had to go back to base to gas up shortly, then start over. The morning had turned out to be just as frustrating as the day before and the afternoon hadn't been shaping up any better until now. He circled the beach and now four eyes were trained on them. "I'm going to set down in that open space over on the right. Should be just enough room for us."

Magnum watched the bird come in lower and knew it was going to land. He started to worry about why they'd gone to all this trouble to find him. He turned to the boys. "It's landing, let's get out of the way."

"Why?" Alika asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"Those guys I told you about? My team? That's them."

"Why are they here?" Hani asked.

"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out." The bird had barely landed when Rick tumbled out of the passenger side and strode up to them. All three boys took up position behind their friend, arms crossed. Rick had to fight a smile at the suspicious looks on their faces. Apparently, Magnum had a new posse. The small dog stood in front of the group, stiff legged and growling.

"Thomas."

"Orville." Oh boy, he was pissed if he was using Rick's real name.

"You're a hard man to find."

"There's a reason for that."

"She didn't mean what she said."

"I know."

"Then why…"

Magnum interrupted. "I figured it out last night, was planning on heading home this afternoon. Why are you here?"

T.C. joined them, having had to stay in the helicopter and safely shut it down. "Thomas."

"Theodore." T.C. had the same thought as Rick. Their friend was angry at them.

"Again, why are you here?" Magnum asked. The two men looked at the boys behind him. "They're cool. Whatever you have to say, can be said in front of them." The boys puffed up at his trust in them.

"Tommy, the reason Higgy said those things to you was that she'd gotten some bad news." He wasn't sure he wanted to tell his friend about Pryce in front of the boys.

Thomas frowned. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine."

"Then I still don't see why an argument between me and Higgins sent you out searching for me." He wasn't stupid, he knew something else was up and his friends were being cagey.

Rick sighed. "Fine, the news she got was from MI6." He stopped and eyed the boys again, all of whom were now staring at him open mouthed. Great, they'd heard of MI6. Stupid Bond movies, conveniently forgetting he was a big fan, at least of the Sean Connery ones.

"And?" Thomas prompted.

Deciding the boys wouldn't be able to do anything with the information, Rick answered. "Ian Pryce escaped custody three days ago and killed two agents in the process. One of them was a guy with a young family and he was a friend of Juliet's."

Thomas closed his eyes. "Damn it."

"Yeah." T.C. said.

"What else?" He asked, opening his eyes. He knew that couldn't be all of it.

T.C. hesitated and then answered. "MI6 has intel that he was seen at Inouye Airport yesterday."

Magnum straightened up. "And you left Higgins alone?!"

"Thomas." Rick said reproachfully.

Magnum had the grace to blush a little. "Yeah, okay. Sorry." He looked at his friends. "Katsumoto?"

"And some of his men." T.C. confirmed.

"Okay then. What's the plan?"

"You head back to the Nest and we watch over you and Higgy until Pryce either leaves or is apprehended." Rick knew that was a long shot, at best. Thomas wasn't the type to just sit back and let someone else handle things. He knew he was right when the man snorted.

"You know he's coming after us, right? There's no other reason for him to be in Hawaii. There's no way I'm letting someone else do the dirty work while I hole up in the lap of luxury."

"Thomas, the man is an assassin and a trained MI6 agent. You need to let HPD and MI6 take care of this." T.C. said, knowing it was a waste of time and energy.

"Would you?" Magnum looked at his two best friends in the world.

Rick opened his mouth to say yes and stopped. He wouldn't lie to Thomas, knowing his buddy knew him too well. Sighing, he said. "No."

"Okay then." He turned to the boys who had been avidly following the conversation. "Look, you guys, you can't say anything about this to anyone. It could be dangerous for you."

Alika looked at him. "Who is this guy and why is he after you and this Higgins?"

Thomas sighed, knowing they weren't going to let it go, he'd learned that much about them. They were tenacious. "He's ex MI6 and was working as an assassin for hire under his agency cover. He killed a lot of good people. He's dangerous. You shouldn't know anything about this!"

Hani looked at him. "Why is he after you?"

Magnum looked at Rick and T.C., but Rick just raised an eyebrow and gestured that it was all on him. "My friend, Juliet, and I took him down. He was in custody because of us. If he's here, it's most likely he wants revenge on us."

"Can we help?" Kukane asked.

"Yes, by staying safe. I'm sorry guys, I had no idea this was going to happen, or I wouldn't have come here." He started towards the Jeep. "I'm going to have to go, but I'd like to leave the camping gear here for you. When this is over, I'll come back. If you're here, I'll let you know what happened. If not, I'll leave a message." He unlocked the Jeep and leaned over the front seats, feeling under the driver's side for his gun. Finding it, he pulled it out, automatically pulled back the slider, chambering a round and stuck it in his waistband, missing the rounded eyes of the boys behind him, watching his every move. He then opened the glove box. Pulling out the burner phone he kept there for business, he also grabbed one of his business cards. Turning to Alika, he held out the phone.

"This is a burner. It's fully charged." He held out the business card as well. "If you need me, for anything, any time, day or night, you call me on this phone. Don't use it for playing around, I don't have the charger with me. You hide it somewhere and only use it if necessary."

Alika took both and nodded, not sure what to say. His new friend had turned out to be more than he'd ever imagined. He looked at his brothers, who also didn't know what to say. Thomas continued. "All I ask is that you keep the site clean…" he paused. "…and you keep each other safe."

Hani stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him. Kukane followed suit and Alika looked on. It was obvious he was torn between wanting to join his brothers and feeling like he was too old to indulge in a hug. Desire won out and the pile became four. Rick and T.C. looked at each other, both noting the shimmering in the other's eyes as they watched their friend say his goodbyes. If they had anything to do with it, Thomas would be back here surfing with these kids before the week was out. Both knew they'd be joining them. Thomas hugged them in return and then stepped back. "I'll be okay. I have the best people in the world watching out for me. This guy doesn't stand a chance." The boys nodded, not sure what else to do.

Hani looked at Rick and T.C. then he reached out and ran a finger gently over the ring on Rick's hand. "You'll keep him safe?" Both men nodded and Thomas felt his heart hurt. These boys were in a bad situation but were worried about him. When this was over, he was going to focus on getting them to a safe place.

Rick didn't know how Thomas did it. How he drew people in. Even people who insisted they didn't like him, like Higgins and Katsumoto, stepped up to help him at the drop of a hat. Almost against their will. He remembered when the detective had admitted that he thought of Magnum and Higgins as friends, after the yacht jacking. The admission had seemed to cause the man actual pain.

That decision made, turning to the guys, Magnum smiled. "Let's head to the Nest. I'll meet you there." The other two nodded and T.C. headed towards the chopper. Rick headed towards the Jeep. "Where are you going?" Thomas asked.

"With you." There was never a question that one of them wouldn't stay with their friend and T.C. was the pilot of the group, so that left him. Thomas knew better than to argue. He followed his buddy to the car and opened the door. Annie jumped in, sitting in the back seat like she was used to it. "What?" Rick asked. "Why is their dog going with us?"

"She's not theirs, she's mine."

"She?"

"Rick, meet Annie. Annie, this is Rick."

Rick shook his head. "Thomas, Zeus and Apollo will eat her for lunch!"

"Actually, I think you'll be surprised. Annie's a scrapper, just like us." The dog looked up at Rick, looking like she was laughing at him. He had a soft spot for animals, and he reached out and stroked her head. She leaned into him and let him rub her ears.

"She's a cutie, if a bit scraggly." Rick was already in love.

"That she is."

"How'd she come to be yours?"

"I think she was either a stray or abandoned. She picked me."

"Someone could be out there, looking for her."

The thought had crossed his mind, but he didn't want to think about it. She'd already become important to him and he couldn't imagine giving her back to someone who hadn't taken care of her in the first place. He started the Jeep. "Let's head home." He realized the Nest had become just that, home. He looked in the rearview mirror as he headed away, not missing the similarity with the last time he'd left Robin's estate, watching as the three young boys became smaller. He'd be back and they'd be safe, if it was the last thing he did.

"You know Higgy is going to have something to say about you having a dog, don't you?"

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	6. Chapter 6

A/N - While betaing (is that even a word?) this chapter and the next, honus47 had some concerns about the timing of things. As I was wondering how to address them, I went back through the previous chapters and realized I'd also messed up the timeline. I went back and tweaked chapter 5 to address that. It didn't change the story and probably doesn't warrant a reread, just wanted to put it out there in case anyone else noticed.

A/N2 - E hauʻoli! Man, I love the Hawaiian language!

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Chapter 6

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Magnum was quiet as he guided the Jeep down the rutted path. Rick respected this and kept quiet as well. Fifteen minutes later, Thomas looked at his friend to find him watching him.

"What?"

"You were gone for, what? Two, two and a half days? Now you have three new besties and a dog."

"Besties? What are you? A teenage girl?"

"Don't deflect."

Thomas sighed and looked back to the road. "But I'm so good at it."

Rick laughed. "Yeah, you really are."

Thomas laughed in return and then asked. "So, what are we going to do about this?"

His friend sobered. "You should stay at the Nest and wait it out."

"We've already had this discussion. You know the answer."

"Thomas, I get it, I do. But don't forget, Pryce was an extremely successful international assassin while maintaining an equally successful cover as a well-respected and trusted MI6 agent!" He knew he was repeating himself. "He's dangerous."

Magnum raised an eyebrow and looked Rick in the eyes. "So are we."

Rick's mouth opened and closed a couple times before he huffed out a sigh. He wasn't going to win this argument and he knew that he'd feel the same way if he was in Thomas's place. "Fine. But you don't go anywhere without one of us, do you understand me?"

"Yes mom."

"Thomas, don't. I'm serious. _This_ is serious."

"I know." The grimness in his voice let Rick know that his friend was not taking this lightly, despite his teasing words.

"Okay then." They were quiet until Thomas turned off the dirt road onto the main street.

"So, tell me about this agent friend of Higgins." Thomas requested.

"Don't know all that much except that his name was Marcus and he had two young kids, girls, I think. He stopped being a field agent so he wouldn't be in danger. Higgins was close to him."

"She was blaming me for stopping her from killing Pryce, wasn't she?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

Thomas shrugged. "I know guilt."

"You know Nuzo's death wasn't your fault, don't you?"

"Maybe not, but I didn't save him."

"None of us did. We all miss the big guy, but he wouldn't want you to put this on yourself." Rick said softly.

"I know. I just…" He stopped when he saw the flashing lights in the rearview. "What the hell? I wasn't speeding and the car should be clean, Eddie would never have let me take it if it wasn't."

"Yeah, about that! How'd you convince Eddie to give you a loaner?"

Thomas looked at him in confusion as he pulled over to the side of the road. "What do you mean? He says he does it all the time." He watched a young cop get out of the passenger side of the HPD cruiser.

Rick snorted. "Yeah, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale, slightly used."

Thomas opened his mouth to retort when he heard the cop call out. "Out of the car with your hands in the air! NOW!" He looked in the sideview mirror to the man with his gun drawn and pointed at the Jeep.

"What did you do?" Magnum asked.

"Me? Why do you assume it's me?"

Before he could respond, the officer yelled out a second time. "I'm not going to tell you again! Out of the car with your hands in the air!" The two men exchanged a look and shrugged. Both slowly opened their doors and stepped out, hands in the air. "On the ground, ankles crossed and hands behind your head!"

Thomas sighed and yelled back. "Look, officer, I think there's been some kind of mistake."

"No mistake! There's a BOLO out on this car, now do what I tell you!"

Looking at Rick, he didn't miss the guilty look on his face. Ignoring the officer pointing his gun at them, he tilted his head. "You knew about this?" He asked loudly.

"Well, yeah, kind of."

"Katsumoto?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't stop him?" Thomas was getting angry again.

"Hell no, in fact I'm the one who gave him the plate number!"

"Orville Wilbur Wright!"

"Thomas Sullivan Magnum the fourth!"

The two stared at each other and Thomas's mouth twitched. "How'd you get the plate number anyway?"

"Eddie gave it to me."

"How'd you figure out Eddie gave me the loaner in the first place?"

"Saw Erica on the video footage at the estate."

Magnum raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Not a bad little piece of detecting."

"I know."

"Still, a BOLO? That's ridiculous!"

"Well, pardon us! There's a freaking _assassin_ on your tail! What were we supposed to do? Hang around and just hope you made it home in one piece?"

The young officer watched the scene unfolding in front of him as the two men argued with their hands still in the air, following the back and forth like a tennis match, his gun drooping a little as he tried to figure out how to deal with this. Inside the car, the officer behind the wheel grinned. He'd seen a couple versions of this comedy show since the P.I. had set up shop in Oahu. There were some cops who hated Private Investigators, Magnum in particular as he always seemed to be in the middle of some catastrophe or another, but he knew there were several bad people in jail because of the man in front of them. Besides, he actually kind of liked the affable retired SEAL. He watched as his rookie partner made a decision and brought the gun up again, training it on the men in front of him. Damn, he'd have to step in before someone got shot. Getting out of the car, he called out.

"Put it away, newbie. They're not dangerous."

Not sure what to think, Officer Kawai looked askance at his superior. "They're not cooperating. They need to cooperate." He sounded as young as he looked.

Sergeant Hale sighed. "He's not dangerous. The BOLO was for him being in danger. You can lower your gun."

"How do we know he's this Magnum guy?"

Thomas chose that moment to yell out. "Makana, that you?"

"Yeah, Thomas, it's me."

Thomas went to lower his hands, but Kawai gestured with the gun and the hands went back up.

"Kawai! I know him and I know he's who we've been looking for. Stand down!" Hale was getting too old for this. Damn rookies and their earnestness.

"Since when do you get stuck with rookies?" Thomas called out.

"Drew the short straw." He didn't miss the hurt look on the younger man's face and felt bad. "Just kidding, he's a good kid, if a bit…overzealous. Should make a good cop." The hurt was replaced by pride.

"Can we put our hands down now? My arms are getting tired." Rick said.

Hale looked at his partner, letting the man take the lead back. The gun lowered. "Yeah, you can put them down." Kawai reluctantly said. Both men sighed with relief as they lowered their hands. The two cops approached the Jeep.

"You okay?" Hale asked Magnum.

"I'm fine."

"You know what this is all about?" The sergeant was curious.

Magnum sighed. "Yeah, you get another BOLO on an Ian Pryce?"

"Yeah, bad dude from what I read. He after you for some reason?"

Magnum paused and Rick answered. "We think he's here after Thomas and Juliet Higgins. They were responsible for uncovering what he was and for him being taken into custody."

"Damn, Thomas. You sure know how to make friends and influence people." The three older men laughed but the rookie's mouth had dropped open.

"I read up on him." He sounded awed.

"I'm sure you did." Hale said, rolling his eyes a little.

Ignoring him, Kawai was suddenly Thomas and Rick's new best friend. "What's he like? Was he really an MI6 agent? Was he like James Bond?"

Rick sighed but Thomas smiled, thinking of the boys. "He was, kind of. Suave. British accent that made you want to trust him. Turned out to be a really bad guy."

"Wow, that's amazing! How'd you figure it out? How'd you take him down?" The young man was practically salivating with the need to know.

Hale decided it was time to reign this in. "Doesn't matter. All that does, is that they did and now he's here on Oahu to hurt them." He turned to Thomas. "Get back in the car and we'll follow you home. I'll update the BOLO as we go."

"Thanks, Makana." Thomas and Rick went back to the jeep and got in.

"Never a dull moment around you, T.M." Rick said as Magnum pulled out, the cruiser right on their tail.

"Keeps you on your toes, my friend."

"I could do with a little less of that." Rick sounded tired and Thomas looked at him, noticing for the first time, the dark circles under his eyes. He wondered why but didn't ask, thinking he already knew the answer. His friends had been worried about him and it took its toll.

"I don't mean for this stuff to happen." He said quietly. "It just does."

"I know, Tommy. You can't just let things go, you always have to do the right thing. As long as it isn't following instructions from your friendly neighborhood police detective."

Humming softly, Thomas then began to sing. "Spider-Man, Spider-Man. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man…"

"Wealth and fame, he's ignored. Action is his reward." Rick took up the next line.

"To him, life is a great big bang up. Wherever there's a hang up, you'll find the Spider-Man." They finished together.

"You ever get bitten by a radioactive spider, don't call me." Rick said. Thomas laughed and the rest of the long ride back to the Nest was taken up with cheesy theme songs. At the gate, they both got out and walked back to the cruiser, having taken note of another one trolling the area. They were pretty sure it wasn't the only one. Katsumoto was nothing, if not meticulous.

"Makana, thanks for the escort. When this is over, let's get together for a beer." Thomas looked at Kawai in the passenger seat. "Both of you." Kawai looked pleased to be included.

"Sure thing." Hale paused. "Thomas? Stay safe. This guy isn't one to play around with."

"I know." His reply was just as serious.

"Okay then, I'll hold you to that drink."

"You do that. Stay safe yourself." Thomas said as he stepped back from the car. The cruiser backed up and turned around, heading back on duty. He turned back to Rick.

"Shall we beard the lioness in her den?"

Rick raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to tell her you said that!"

"You wouldn't!" Magnum replied in mock horror.

"We'll see. Might depend on how cooperative you are." Rick got back into the passenger seat. Thomas laughed and got into the driver's side, turning to look at Annie, who hadn't made a sound during the whole encounter, almost as if she knew there was nothing to worry about.

"Annie, you need to be on your best behavior, okay?" He said. The dog whoofed at him and he grinned, reaching out to stroke her head. She turned and licked his hand, making his heart swell. He entered his code and the gates opened. Driving through, he tried not to feel apprehensive. The next few minutes could decide his future. He started to drive towards the guest house, but Rick intervened.

"Main house."

"Why?" He knew he sounded whiny and that he was trying to put off the coming confrontation.

"Thomas."

"Fine." He corrected course and drove up to the lioness's den, noting the little bird sitting on the lawn, meaning T.C. was already here. He stopped and people poured out of the house. As he stepped out of the car, Kumu was the first to reach him, pulling him into a hug.

"Thomas, we missed you."

"Missed you too, Kumu." And he had. The older woman was a big part of his life now. Turning to look at the rest waiting for him, he saw Higgins was hanging back.

"Higgins."

"Thomas…" She headed for him and stopped. "Um, Magnum, I owe you…." Just at that point, Annie chose to jump out of the car and stand next to him. "_What_ is _that_!?"

"_She_ is a Spaniel. I think. Her name's Annie."

"And just _who_ does she belong to?"

"Me."

"You don't really think she can stay here, do you? The lads will not allow it."

Whether it was her mentioning them or the fact that their favorite chew toy was back, both Dobermans raced around the corner, barking. When Annie growled in return, they stopped short and sat down abruptly. Magnum thought if dogs had expressions, confusion was the best way to describe the looks on Apollo and Zeus's faces. Annie stepped forward, her bearing regal and the other dogs cautiously reached out to sniff at her. One of them whined and Annie sat down in front of them. A staring contest ensued, while the humans looked on, most of them ready to rush in and save her. After a while, Annie turned her back on them and trotted back to Magnum's side. Both Dobermans stayed put, watching her.

"Well, that did _not_ go as I expected." Higgins said.

"Me either." Thomas agreed.

"She'll need a bath before she enters either house. And don't think that means she can stay."

"She goes where I go." Magnum decided to take a stand.

"Yes, well. I have dog shampoo in the house. Take her around to the outside shower." She looked him up and down. "I'll make sure there's enough for both of you." She turned and marched into the house, no apology issued yet. No quarter on the Annie situation given. Thomas watched her go and a smile started to form on his face.

"Magnum." Katsumoto stepped forward.

"Detective. I hear I have you to thank for a very interesting encounter on the way back."

"Not sure what you mean."

"Cops pulled us over and one drew a gun on us."

"Damn it! I made sure the BOLO was clear you weren't dangerous. Did you get their names?" Katsumoto was fuming. Deciding to let the man off the hook, Thomas replied vaguely.

"Not to worry, was just a rookie who was taking his job too seriously. Luckily, I knew his partner."

"Who?"

"You hear anything on Pryce?"

The detective knew when Magnum wasn't going to give him the information he wanted. It irritated him, how stubborn the man could be. Still, he knew that stubbornness was a big part of the reason he'd gotten out of that POW camp alive and was now standing in front of him, refusing to answer his questions. Allowing himself to be sidetracked, he responded.

"No, nothing. Not a sign of him anywhere, and we have all HPD looking."

"Thanks."

"He's a wanted fugitive on _my_ island. It has nothing to do with you, other than the fact that this is the most likely place he'll head."

Thomas hid a smile, knowing the man's very presence meant it had everything to do with him and Higgins, even if the detective didn't want to admit it. It just proved that the man was warming up to him.

Higgins returned with the promised shampoo and he followed her around the house, Annie at his side. Zeus and Apollo trotted along behind. T.C. and Rick made to follow, but Kumu stopped them, shaking her head. The four of them went back into the house, to wait on the other two to either make up or decide that Thomas's departure was permanent.

Turning on the shower, Juliet made sure the water was warm. She turned to the dog and snapped her fingers like she did for the lads. Annie just stared at her. Later, she'd swear the dog raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, 'You can't _possibly_ be snapping your _fingers_ at me, can you?'. Thomas hid a smile and patted the dog's head.

"Come on Annie, how about a nice warm shower?" He stepped out of his shoes, pulled his shirt over his head and the gun out of his waistband, checking that the safety was on. He placed everything on the ground, out of the way of the water, and stepped under the spray, almost groaning at how good it felt. The little dog followed him, and he took the bottle Higgins held out to him. He soaped her up good, laughing as she frolicked in the water, getting as much on him as he did the dog. Higgins stood there, the Dobermans at her side, a small smile gracing her face as she watched the two. Whether she liked it or not, it appeared the dog was here to stay, not that she'd be giving in too quickly. She loved animals and another addition to the furry household would not be a burden. She'd also seen the bond between man and dog and that was not something to be taken lightly.

When the dog was clean, he turned off the water and she handed him one of the towels kept on the rack by the shower. He dried himself and then turned his attention to the dog. While he was rubbing her down, he asked quietly. "We going to talk about it?"

She cleared her throat. Apologies were never easy for her. Even when given, there was usually a hint of sarcasm underlying it. "I…" She stopped.

He looked up at her. "Rick told me about your friend. You know it's not your fault, right?"

"If I'd taken Pryce down when I had the chance…"

"You can't go there. There are so many ifs in my life, that I'd never be able to function if I let them take over."

"Still."

"And if you had shot him, what would that have done to you?"

"I don't know. I'll never know."

"You may still get the chance."

"Too late for Marcus."

Magnum stood up, the dog as dry as she was going to get and looked her in the eyes. "There are so many things in my life that I wish I'd done differently. Some of them meant we never would have been captured. But then I think, _what if_ we hadn't and we'd gone on another mission? Maybe one where we all died? Things happen as they happen, Juliet. You can't go back and change them, you can only move on."

"Sounds like good advice. Do you follow it yourself?"

"Hell no." The two stared at each other and then began to laugh.

Sobering, Higgins looked at him. "I do owe you an apology. I didn't mean any of those things I said to you. Maybe, when you first got here, before I got to know you. Not now. I enjoy helping you with your cases, it's made things a lot more…interesting." She paused. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Story of my life."

"Magnum…Thomas…please don't leave. Stay here."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He looked at Annie who was sitting at his feet, looking up at him adoringly. "Both of us?"

Juliet looked down at the dog and had to admit she was quite the looker now she was clean. "Well, she does clean up nicely." She looked at him and smiled. "Kind of like you and the boys."

"Thank you. I think." He held out his hand. "Friends?"

She took it. "Friends."

"Good, now let's go see what the others are up to."

They turned to find four faces peering at them through a window. It was laughable how they fell all over themselves trying to move away and pretend they hadn't been spying, even Katsumoto.

Thomas smiled as he looked at her. "Well, I guess we don't need to go tell them we made up."

"No, I don't suppose we do. Shall we?" She gestured towards the house.

"We shall." He started to walk to the house at her side, the lads on her left, Annie on his right. The world seemed a bit brighter.

~,~,~,~,~

Later that night, Thomas stepped out onto the lawn, wanting a breather. They'd spend the last few hours going round and round about where Pryce might be and why he was there. All of it was speculation. No one but Pryce knew why he was here and what he was going to do. He looked up at the night sky, amazed, as always, at the number of stars. He heard a sound behind him and turned to find Kumu had followed him out. She held out a beer and he smiled his thanks as he took it. The two stood in companionable silence for a while. He turned and looked back into the lit room behind them. T.C. and Rick were arguing about something and Higgins was laughing at them. Even Katsumoto had a smile on his face.

He cleared his throat. "Kumu?"

"Yes, Thomas?"

"What can you tell me about foster care on the island?"

Surprised at the topic of conversation, she answered. "About the same as anywhere else. Why?"

"I know three brothers who are in a bad situation. They don't want to go to anyone in authority because they're afraid they'll be separated and put in different foster care homes." He paused and looked inside, saying quietly. "I was separated from my brothers on more than one occasion while we were held." He looked at her. "I wouldn't want that to happen to these boys."

"How old are they?"

"Near as I can figure, about eight, eleven and fifteen. The oldest plans to get a job when he graduates and sue for custody of his brothers when he's eighteen. I don't know what to do."

"Perhaps the detective can help?"

"If Katsumoto knows, he'll want to play by the rules and the boys are scared of what their stepfather will do if he even sniffs cops coming around."

"I can ask around, find out if anyone can take in three boys." She would make sure whatever happened, it was legal. It wouldn't do to get the boys in a good place only to have them snatched away because it wasn't above board. She knew people and would do what she could to help.

"You're a good man, Thomas."

"Not really."

"Yes, you are. You're always trying to help people, even when it gets you in hot water."

"Yeah, well, I have those in there to pull me out before I drown."

"It's good to have friends."

"Not friends. Ohana."

"I think your Ohana has grown by two." She said, indicating Higgins and Katsumoto.

"No, it hasn't."

She looked at him in surprise and he reached out to touch her arm. "It's grown by three." She blinked back tears and put her hand over his, smiling her agreement.

They stood there quietly, happy in each other's company, until Thomas's phone rang. He looked at the number and his stomach dropped. Pasting a smile on his face, he held it up and said. "I need to take this, I'll be right in."

She nodded and made her way inside. He thumbed the slider to answer it and said softly. "Magnum."

"Thomas?" The voice was strained, and his name was followed by sobs.

~,~,~,~,~

E hauʻoli - enjoy

Ohana - family


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

~,~,~,~,~

"Hani? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, it's Alika." The boy sounded terrified.

"What's going on?"

"One of Joe's dealers came over tonight. Joe and mom owe him money. He went after mom and Joe just stood there. Alika tried to stop him and the guy freaked out. He's got a gun and he's waving it around, yelling that he was going to get his money, or someone's going to die. Kakune and I were able to get out, but Alika's still in there. Please, can you come?"

"We'll all come." He damned the timing, wondering why the dealer had had to pick now to try to collect his debt. If he'd just waited a few more days, his own situation would probably be cleared up and he might even have gotten the boys out. He really didn't care what happened to the parents, not really. He hoped it didn't make him a bad person when the thought crossed his mind that things would be easier if those two were out of the way. Then he worried that his befriending the boys had had an impact on Alika's actions. He knew the young man had been a bit too interested in the idea that Thomas helped people. Had seen him as brave and might have wanted to emulate him. This was his fault.

"No!" The response was hysterical. "If too many of you show up, he'll kill them, I know he will! Can't just you come?"

Instantly making a decision, he said. "Give me the address." He memorized it and then said. "Hani, I want you and Kakune to hide somewhere near the road. Don't come out until you see me. You remember what the Jeep looks like, right?"

"Yes." The boy hiccupped, still crying but not as bad.

"Good, that's good. I'll be there as soon as I can, but it might take me about an hour." The address wasn't all that close, and the Nest was kind of isolated. Thankfully, the boys lived on this side of their beach and not the other. "Don't go back in the house, no matter what. I know you want to help your brother, but if you get hurt trying, it will make it worse for him, believe me."

"Okay. Just….come soon?"

"I will. Now, put Kukane on." He wanted the other boy to make the same promise in person.

"Thomas?" The older boy didn't sound in much better shape.

"Yeah, buddy, it's me. I'm on my way. Promise me you won't go back into that house and you won't let Hani either."

"I promise." Kakune didn't even ask why. The kid was smart, he knew going in wouldn't solve anything. Thomas was relieved. "You're really coming?" The boy sounded like he was afraid to believe.

"I told you I would, and I never break my promises. Just hold on and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Thank you." Was the whispered reply.

They hung up and Magnum had to take a minute to gather himself. Once he thought he was under control, he went back into the house and made a show of yawning and stretching. "It's late, I think I'm going to call it a night. I'll talk to you guys in the morning." He started to leave when Katsumoto spoke up.

"I think it would be best if you all stayed in one place. I'm sure Higgins can find some spare rooms for all of you to crash in." The others laughed, knowing the main house had more than enough empty bedrooms for each of them, twice over.

Higgins smiled. "There's plenty of room for all of us. The rooms are always made up, just in case guests appear unexpectedly. I'd be happy to let each of you take one." Rick and T.C. gave each other a high five. The mansion was incredibly luxurious, and neither was averse to taking advantage, especially after having spent the last two nights bunkered down at Island Hoppers. T.C. had already cancelled his tours for the next couple of days, Shammy agreeing to keep an eye on things when he'd called to give him an update on Magnum. Rick had let his second in command know he was taking a few days off. The two would be staying on the estate with Thomas and Higgins until this was resolved. No way were they letting either one very far out of their sights. Katsumoto was determined he'd sleep on the couch again, wanting to be on guard.

Magnum thought quickly and said. "I was actually hoping to sleep in my own bed. Two nights sleeping on the ground made me miss my mattress. I'll be right across the way and the estate's well protected so I'll be fine. Besides…" He reached down and patted Annie's head. "…I'll have my very own guard dog with me." He hated lying to his friends, but he'd made a promise to two very scared little boys and he wouldn't break it. Didn't mean he wasn't hoping they'd come after him, just that he planned on having a good enough head start to get the boys out of danger first. It looked like the authorities were going to get involved, no matter what.

Katsumoto frowned, not sure why he was worried about this turn of events. Rick and T.C. watched their friend with identical expressions on their faces. They were worried about him but didn't want to crowd him. When no one insisted, Magnum said his good nights and walked slowly out of the main house, resisting the urge to sprint. He let himself into the guest house where he'd already unpacked all his things earlier in the day. He made for the bedroom, Annie on his heels. Changing quickly into darker clothes, he put his gun in his waistband, turned off the lights and waited a few minutes, knowing the others were probably watching. When he saw the light go out in the living room, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was already leaving later than he'd hoped.

He went into the kitchen and got the tool chest out of the cabinet under the sink, knowing Higgins kept it well stocked for any small emergencies. He pulled out the roll of duct tape and stuck the chest back under, then walked through the front door. He opened the back window of the Jeep, thankful it was a hard top and levered himself up and over the back gate. Crawling to the front seat, he pulled off a strip of the tape and began to cover the overhead light. Even though they'd be able to see him through the security cameras, he didn't think anyone would be watching. The light from the car, however, might have a different result, easily seen from the main house. "Sorry Eddie." He muttered. It would probably be easier to pull the fuse, but he didn't want to waste the time trying to find it in the unfamiliar car, worried that he'd pull one that was important and strand him. When he was pretty sure the light wouldn't show through, he carefully opened the driver's door. When no light appeared, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He stepped out, held the door open and Annie hopped in the back without a sound. He knew better than to try to persuade her to stay, plus he thought her presence might calm the obviously upset Hani. He hoped the boys had listened to him, stayed hidden and not tried to go back in the house to help Alika. He started the Jeep and put it into gear, coasting down the access road with his lights off. When he got to the gate, he put in his code but didn't hit the enter button, watching the road on the other side. While he was waiting, he made sure the GPS on his phone was on and then turned the volume off. He wouldn't answer any calls but knew Higgy would be able to track him when she figured out that he'd left. When a cruiser slowly went by a minute or so later, he watched until it was out of sight and then hit the button that would open the gate, knowing that it would sound the alarm inside the house. He gunned the engine and took a quick turn, leaving his lights off. It was a sign of how worried he was about the boys, that he didn't notice the dark sedan with tinted windows that pulled out behind him, lights also off. A car that had hidden in the shadows of the trees for two days, watching the house, keeping just out of sight of the patrolling police cruisers. Waiting. He sped down the street, oblivious, with only one thought in his mind.

Inside the house, the alarm startled Katsumoto and he turned on the lights. He heard running footsteps heading his way and Juliet burst into the room, T.C. and Rick on her heels. She made a beeline for the laptop and accessed the security cameras as Kumu made her own appearance.

"What is it?" The detective asked, his gun out.

"Someone just opened the main gate." She said as she backed up the footage.

"Who?"

She looked up in alarm. "Magnum."

"Oh dear." Kumu said and four eyes turned to her.

"Do you know something, Kumu?" Juliet asked.

"He got a phone call just before he went to bed. He made it kind of obvious he wanted privacy for it. I left him to it and when he came back in, he didn't mention it and that's when he suddenly wanted to head back to the guest house. I didn't think anything of it."

"You don't know who called?" Katsumoto asked.

"No."

"Had to be important, to send him out into the night, knowing Pryce is still out there somewhere." T.C. said, worried about his friend.

Rick frowned, thinking about things and came up with a conclusion he didn't like. Turning to T.C., he said. "He gave his burner phone to those kids, remember? Said to use it any time if they needed him and he'd come. I was going to ask him why later, but we got sidetracked and I forgot about it."

"What burner phone? What kids?" Katsumoto asked.

"The phone is one he uses for business, when he doesn't want a call traced back to him. The kids are three brothers that Thomas befriended while he was camping." Rick answered.

Kumu sucked in a breath and the eyes all turned to her again. "Were they around eight, eleven and fifteen?" She asked.

Rick's frown deepened. "Sounds about right. How'd you know?"

"He was asking me about foster care on the island. Said he knew three brothers that were in trouble but were afraid they'd get split up. He wanted to know if I knew anyone who could help."

The detective sighed. "So, one of these kids called him and he just took off without telling any of us?"

Kumu answered. "He mentioned that they were afraid of the authorities. Could that be why?"

T.C. frowned. "Probably. Still, he could have let me and Rick know on the sly. Taken us with him."

Kumu looked at him. "Would you have let him leave the estate, even with you as backup, knowing Pryce is out there still?"

Rick nodded. "We wouldn't have liked it, but if Thomas was determined to go, we wouldn't have let him go alone." He sighed. "Maybe the boys asked him not to."

"Why would they do that?" Katsumoto asked. No one had an answer to that and all were uneasy. "Did you at least get their names?"

T.C. grimaced. "No, with everything that was going on, we never got introduced."

Rick pulled out his cell and found his contact for Thomas. He wasn't really expecting his friend to answer. When it went to voicemail, he hung up.

"Why didn't you leave a message?" Juliet asked, worried.

"His mailbox is full. He mustn't have had time to clean it up yet."

Katsumoto pulled out his radio and relayed the fact that one of their protectees had just flown the coop. Each car reported in that they hadn't seen anything. Frustrated, the man told Officer Iona to come into the estate and the rest of them to keep patrolling and turned to the waiting group. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"Well, the kids obviously weren't old enough to drive and I doubt their parents, based on the questions T.M. had about foster care, would bother to drive miles just to drop them off at a beach to surf, so they either walked or the drive was short. They would have to live somewhere in the area where Thomas was camping." T.C. said as he gave the detective the location of the beach.

Katsumoto frowned. "That's about an hour's drive from here. Anything could happen to him. We have no idea if Pryce is watching the house, just looking for an opportunity to grab him or Higgins. He has to know this was a stupid idea!"

Rick raised an eyebrow at him. "If a child reached out to you, scared and needing help, would you just tell them sorry and leave them to deal with it themselves?"

"No, I would tell the HPD detective sitting in the other room that there was a problem!"

"I told you, Thomas said the boys are terrified the authorities will take them away and split them up." Kumu said. She looked at T.C. and Rick. "He said he'd been separated from his brothers while you were held, and that he knew how they felt." The two men exchanged looks, both unconsciously rubbing the insignia on the rings they wore.

"Does anyone have the burner phone number?" Juliet asked. "Maybe we can call it and the boys can tell us where they are. Wherever they are, that's where Thomas is going."

Both T.C. and Rick shook their heads no. "He never gave it to us, never had a reason to." T.C. responded.

"I can get a warrant to have the phone company track his GPS, as long as he hasn't turned it off. The problem with that is how long it will take, especially this time of night. He's already been gone about ten minutes, by the time we get the warrant and find him, whatever's happening will most likely be long over." Katsumoto was frustrated. He understood Magnum's motivation, but he was a little hurt that the P.I. hadn't trusted him enough to help. He would have and, yes, DHS would most likely have gotten involved, but he would have done everything in his power to keep the boys together.

"Actually, if you're willing to forget you're a detective, I might be able to assist." Juliet said.

"Why am I not surprised?" The detective sighed. Juliet didn't say anything as she logged into a…somewhat…illegal site. She entered Magnum's number, no one commenting that she knew it by heart. She was worried about the head start he already had and watched the site start its trace.

A few tense minutes later, she straightened up. "I've got him! He's further away than I would have expected. He's obviously travelling fast." She looked up and gave them the direction he was taking. It was just as expected.

"Okay, we leave now, and we catch up with him." Rick was already heading towards the door, the others following.

Katsumoto stepped in front of him. "Yes, we go after him, but we take one of the cruisers with us. You follow us and don't head off on your own." He turned to Higgins. "Can you continue to follow him from a mobile device?" He wasn't happy about it but knew better than to think any of them would stay put. At least if they were together, he could keep an eye on them.

She opened the drawer and held up a tablet that she already had the app loaded onto. "I can follow him with this."

"Fine." He looked at the group and shook his head. "I think it might be a good idea for all of you to get changed." He raised an eyebrow at Higgins, who looked down at her tap pants and tank top. Bloody hell, she'd forgotten she'd just gotten into bed when the alarm had sounded. She nodded and raced back to her bedroom. The boys were pretty much dressed, not having night clothes with them. They'd only had to slip their pants back on before running towards the commotions, all they needed now were shirts and shoes. It wasn't fair.

Katsumoto turned to Kumu. "Can you stay here and watch in case he comes back or calls the house?"

"Of course." A small part of her wanted to go with them, the rest knew she would be of more help here.

"Thank you." He turned as Higgins came back into the room, fully dressed and shoving a gun into her waistband. He didn't say anything, knowing she had a permit to carry concealed. He turned to Wright and Calvin. "Higgins and I will go in the cruiser, you follow in Wright's car." He knew the sports car would have no problem keeping up with the police car. In fact, he was sure the men in it would be frustrated that they couldn't race to their friend at its top speed, leaving HPD in their dust.

The cruiser pulled up to the gate and pressed the buzzer. Juliet let it in and the four of them hurried out into the night.

~,~,~,~,~

Almost an hour after receiving Hani's call, Thomas slowly cruised the neighborhood by the boy's home. When a small figure darted out into the road, he cursed as he almost ran it down. Pulling over, he stepped out only to have Hani launch himself at him. He wrapped his arms around the boy, feeling the frantic heart beat against his leg. Kukane followed almost as quickly. Thomas put his arm out and the boy snuggled into his side.

"Are you both okay?" He stopped himself from feeling limbs for broken bones or wounds.

"Yeah, now that you're here." Hani said.

Stepping back, Thomas looked up and the down the street, not seeing anyone. "Okay, both of you get into the car, now." They jumped in with alacrity and Annie did her best to make them feel better, licking both their faces.

"Wow, Annie, you look different!" Hani said, momentarily distracted from his trauma as only a child could be.

"Yeah, she got a nice bath and made some new friends." Magnum said as he got in the Jeep as well. He turned to the two boys sitting in the back seat, arms wrapped around the Spaniel like they were never going to let her go. "Now, tell me everything that happened."

Kukane answered. "There was a knock at the door around ten and Joe answered it. He always answers the door, we're not allowed to. A guy followed him in, and they started talking. The guy said something about money, and they all started fighting. He slapped mom and Alika got between them, yelling at him to leave her alone. The next thing we know, the guy has a gun out and was threatening all of us, screaming about money he's owed. When he wasn't looking at us, Hani and I snuck into the kitchen to get away through the back door. Alika wouldn't leave mom." He hung his head. "We shouldn't have either."

Magnum reached out and patted his leg. "You did the right thing. Because of that, you were able to call for help. Now, do you know this guy's name?" A vague plan started to form in his mind.

"I think Joe called him Paulie E." Hani offered.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. You two are going to stay here and keep the car locked. You don't open the door for anyone but me. I'm going in to see if I can get Alika out. If you hear gunshots, you take Annie and you run for the nearest house. Get them to call the cops. Ask for Sergeant Hale. Can you remember that?"

"Do you think there's gonna be gunshots?" Hani's eyes were wide and full of tears.

"Not if I can help it. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure no one gets hurt, but I can't predict what this guy or your parents are going to do."

"Joe's not our parent." Hani said defiantly.

Thomas chuckled. "I'm sure Alika will be happy to hear you say that." He looked at his watch. It had been nearly an hour and a half since the boy had called him. Way too long for a young boy to be held at gun point. "Okay, I need you to do what I said. When I get out, lock the doors." Both boys nodded. He got out and waited for the doors to snick locked. Looking around, he started towards the house the boys had indicated was theirs. He stopped just before the steps, considering. Finally, he reached down and rubbed his hands through the dirt on the non-existent lawn. He smeared some on his shirt, his pants and a bit on his face. He ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. Taking a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never, he stepped up to the front door and knocked.

Inside, Paulie E aimed the gun at Joe. "Who's that?"

"No idea. Wasn't expecting anyone."

Pointing the gun at the woman and boy, Paulie snarled at him. "Get rid of whoever it is or there won't be anyone left to worry about."

"I ain't worried about them."

Paulie aimed the gun at him again. "I know someone you _are_ worried about." Joe held up his hands and nodded.

When no one answered, Thomas knocked again, louder. He heard voices inside and then footsteps. The door was thrown open and a disheveled man stood in the opening.

"What do you want?" He snarled.

Thomas began to scratch his arm and do a hop skip from foot to foot. He made sure to keep the scratching hand in the way of the man being able to see that there were no actual track marks on his arm. "I...I heard that Paulie E was here. I need something man, now."

"Get lost." Joe went to shut the door.

"I got money."

Joe stopped and narrowed his eyes at him, thinking. Something Magnum was pretty sure was a new experience. "How much?"

"Enough for what I need." He didn't want to make it too easy.

Joe stepped forward. "How much?" He growled.

Scratching harder, knowing he was drawing blood, Thomas blurted out. "About $500."

A calculating look passed over the man's face and he opened the door a bit. Thomas stepped through, making sure he didn't turn his back on Joe. Once inside, he took in the situation. The boy's mom was sitting on the couch, her hand to her face where she was currently sporting a black eye. Next to her, but not in the protective comfort of a mother's arms, sat Alika. The boy looked at him with surprise but kept his mouth shut, proving Thomas right. The boy was smart.

Paulie E. paced towards them. "I told you to get rid of whoever was at the door!"

Joe cringed. "He has money." The man paused and turned his attention to Magnum.

"I don't know you."

Thomas responded. "Your guys told me you'd be here. I need some heroin, man. I can pay for it!" He fumbled in his left pocket for money he didn't have. Everyone watched that hand and he used his right to pull his gun. "Back up or I shoot!" He pointed the gun at Paulie E. The man snarled at him and Thomas shot him in the leg. The man looked shocked before he dropped to the ground, his gun skittering away as he clutched at his leg and howled. Thomas looked at Alika and indicated with this head that the boy should join him. He jumped off the couch and made it to the man's side in record time.

The woman on the couch snarled at him. "Where do you think you're going, you little ingrate?"

"With him." Alika responded calmly.

"You think he'll help you?" She laughed. "He's just going to use you and then throw you away." She narrowed her eyes at Magnum. "You got a thing for young boys? I got two even younger in the other room. I can give you a good deal."

Magnum wrapped his free arm around Alika and pulled him closer. "I don't even have words to tell you how disgusted you make me. You have three great kids and don't even realize it." From the corner of his eye, he saw Joe sidling towards the dealer's discarded gun, and he aimed his at him. "Don't."

The man stopped and raised his hands. Backing up, pulling the boy with him, Thomas slowly made his way out of the house. Once they made it through the door, he slammed it shut and shouted at Alika. "Run!" The boy didn't need to be told twice and followed at Thomas's heels, the man checking behind him to see if they were followed. When no one came out of the house, he slowed a little. They reached the car to find two scared faces staring at them through the glass. The doors snicked open and both piled in. Thomas fired up the Jeep and squealed away, flipping on the headlights. When they were several streets away, he slowed and scolded the boys.

"I thought I told you to run to the nearest house if you heard gunshots!"

Kakune answered, eerily calm. "There was only one gunshot, not _gunshots_."

Magnum opened his mouth to retort and stopped short. If the boys had run, he'd have had to track them down. Still. "You know what I meant." He turned to look at them, planning on giving them a firm talking to when Hani pointed out the front window.

"Thomas!"

He turned forward to find a black SUV blocking his way. Jamming on the brakes, he skidded to a stop. The passenger door opened, and a man stepped out, a gun pointing at them.

"Thomas. Step out of the car, please." Magnum closed his eyes. He'd know that voice anywhere, the elegant British accent belying the corrupt man behind it. Ian Pryce.

~,~,~,~,~


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

~,~,~,~,~

Thomas opened his eyes and reacted instinctively, jamming the Jeep into reverse and hitting the gas. He stopped abruptly when another SUV pulled up behind him. Knowing they were trapped, he turned to the boys and said quietly. "The three of you get down and don't say a word."

Hani frowned at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Whatever I have to, to keep you safe."

"He sounds British." Alika said. "He's that MI6 guy who's after you, isn't he?"

Thomas sighed, wishing the kid wasn't so quick on the uptake. "Yeah, he is. He wants me, not you. You should be okay."

"Thomas, your friends said he was dangerous." Kakune just had to add his two cents. "You shouldn't go with him."

"I don't have a choice."

Alika looked at him. "This is our fault, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" He asked without thinking, although he knew what was going through the boy's head.

"If we hadn't called you…if you hadn't come here to help us…you'd still be safe with your friends." The boy sounded too old and so weary.

"Maybe, but then my other friends would be in trouble and what kind of friend would that make me? Besides, if it wasn't now, it would probably have been later. Ian Pryce isn't likely to just give up and go away."

Alika opened his mouth to argue when Pryce called out again. "Thomas, I'm getting impatient." He waved the gun. "I'm not squeamish about killing children. If you don't get out here, one of them will be first."

Magnum rolled his eyes and tried to joke. "He's so cliché."

Hani wasn't having it. "Don't go with him, _please_."

He reached out and patted the boy's shoulder. "I have to. If I don't, he won't think twice about hurting all of you. You guys need to be strong and take care of yourselves and Annie for me. Once we're gone, use the burner to call 9-1-1, ask for Sergeant Hale and tell him what happened. He'll know what to do." He hoped Pryce didn't kill him right here and now in front of the boys. He smiled at them. "You'll be okay."

"Maybe, but will you?" Alika asked.

"I'll be fine! Trained Navy SEAL, remember? I've got some tricks up my sleeves. Now, do what I said and stay down." He stroked Annie's head, hoping it wasn't for the last time, and turned to slip out of the Jeep. The dog tried to follow him, but he pushed her back. "Annie, stay. Keep them safe girl." He shut the door on her, and she set up a mournful howl, knowing something was wrong. He smiled at the three scared faces that looked at him through the window and gave them a thumbs up. The boys tried to smile back, but none were successful. He turned and put his hands up as he marched towards Pryce, wondering if he could get a shot off before the man killed him, thinking about the gun he'd automatically stuck back in his waistband while running from the boy's home. He certainly didn't want to die, but he could go with some contentment, if he knew he took Ian Pryce out first.

The other man raised his gun and smiled. "Stop right there." Thomas stopped and Pryce waved his other hand. Two men came up behind him from the other SUV and patted him down, taking his gun. He hoped they didn't think to take his cell. If Pryce didn't kill him right here, it would at least give his friends a way to locate him. When the men ignored it, he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried.

Taking the bull by the horns, he asked. "What do you want, Ian?"

"Now Thomas, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"You're not my friend, certainly not an old one. I thought you were smarter than this."

"Oh, please, do tell me what you mean." Pryce raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Fine. Revenge? Really? Why would you take a chance on being recaptured here, just to get back at Juliet and me? It's stupid and it's reckless." He paused, thinking he'd just realized that something had been bothering him about this since they'd told him the man was on Oahu and that he knew what it was. "But you're not stupid or reckless, are you?" He asked slowly. "You didn't hide your extracurricular activities for years without being very smart or by taking ridiculous chances. What is this really about?"

"Apparently, you aren't all that stupid either. The reason I'm here, however, is something for another time." He nodded to the two men and one raised his hand, striking Magnum hard across the temple with his gun. His world went black as he crumpled to the ground.

Pryce walked up and toed him in the side. When he didn't move, he nodded. "You left his cell phone on him?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, that should bring Juliet running."

"What do you want to do about the kids?"

"They're kids, what are they going to do? Leave them."

"What if they call the cops?"

"And tell them what? They already know I'm here and that I'm most likely after Magnum and Higgins. They don't have anything new to tell them, other than that I have him and that's exactly what I want."

"If you're sure?"

"I am. Now, put him in my car." The two men lifted Thomas from the ground and dragged him to the SUV. Opening the back door, they shoved him in none too gently. "Careful! I need him alive, for now." He shouted at them. They nodded and shut the door.

Turning back to the Jeep, Pryce yelled out. "I'm not going to hurt you, as long as you stay put. Feel free to tell Juliet Higgins and the rest of Magnum's friends, that Ian Pryce says hello!"

Inside the Jeep, the three brothers looked at each other in confusion. Why would the man want them to tell Thomas's friends anything? Shouldn't he be telling them to keep quiet and not say a word to anyone? When they heard the two cars start up and drive away, Alika cautiously stuck his head up and looked at the now empty road. They were gone and so was Thomas. Shaking, he put out his hand. "Give me the phone."

Hani dug it out of his pocket and handed it to him. Dialing 9-1-1 as Thomas had directed, he almost started crying when the call was answered immediately. Taking a deep breath, he said. "I need to speak with Sergeant Hale. It's an emergency."

"What's the nature of the emergency?" The voice sounded skeptical.

"A man named Ian Pryce just kidnapped my friend. He's wanted by the police and we think he may…he may kill Thomas." His voice broke as he said the words out loud.

"What's your name sweetie? Are you alone? How old are you? Are you in a safe place? Where are you?" The dispatcher pelted him with questions and didn't sound skeptical any more. She'd seen the BOLO on Pryce, every cop on the island had. He was listed as armed and extremely dangerous. The information hadn't been released to the public yet. If this boy had the man's name, the call was legit. She hit the button that would signal her supervisor to listen in.

"My name is Alika Mahelona. I'm fifteen. I'm not alone, my brothers are here with me, Hani and Kakune. We're safe, because Thomas made sure of it. Pryce had a gun and Thomas went with him so he wouldn't hurt us. They knocked him out and shoved him in the back of their car. He told us to call 9-1-1 after they were gone and ask for Sergeant Hale." He gave her the street name and told her they were in a black Jeep.

"Does your friend have a name other than Thomas?" She asked, to keep him on the line and calm him down. Her supervisor was already on the phone with police headquarters.

"Yeah, Thomas Magnum."

"How old is your friend?"

"I don't know, old. Like late thirties, early forties?" Feeling a little old herself at the boy thinking _thirty_ was old, she was also a bit concerned that an older man was befriending such young boys.

"How'd you meet Thomas?" Alika calmed as he began to regale her with the story of how he and his younger brothers had become friends with one retired Navy SEAL, turned Private Investigator, named Thomas Magnum.

~,~,~,~,~

Makana Hale was just going off duty when his rookie partner came running up to him, out of breath. "Sergeant, we have an emergency!"

Makana wished he'd been just a little quicker so he would have been out of the building and on his way home. He was tired from a twelve-hour shift and just wanted to slip into bed next to his wife, to sleep what little was left of the night away. He sighed, wondering what the overeager young man considered an emergency. When Kawai just stood there, looking at him expectantly, he wondered if he was getting too old for this. "Well, spit it out."

"Sorry, sorry! 9-1-1 just got a call from some kid that Ian Pryce kidnapped Thomas Magnum, right down the street from here! He asked specifically for you."

"What?" All trace of tiredness was gone, pushed out by a flood of adrenaline. "What was Magnum even doing back here? He was supposed to stay on Mr. Masters' estate where he was safe!" Hale was already racing towards his cruiser, Kawai on his heels, trying to answer the questions being flung at him as they ran.

"I…I don't know. They didn't tell me that. Just that the kid said Pryce had pulled a gun, threatened them if Magnum didn't go with him. They hit him over the head and stuffed him in a car. Left them behind."

"Jesus." They reached the car and Hale started it up before Kawai was half way in the door. The younger man gulped as he pulled his legs in as the car began backing out of its space. He was still fumbling with his seat belt when his partner reached out to grab the radio.

"Dispatch, this is One Charlie Alpha, heading out to the scene of a possible kidnapping." He looked expectantly at his partner and Kawai gave him the address which he repeated to the dispatcher.

"Roger, One Charlie Alpha. Be careful out there Makana." She didn't question why he was going when he should be off shift. That Pryce had kidnapped someone had spread like wildfire through the station. As had the fact that the person who called it in, had asked for him.

"Always Shelly. One Charlie Alpha out." He hung up the radio, wondering if the P.I. was even still alive. He hit the siren and raced towards the scene.

~,~,~,~,~

Juliet leaned over the front seat of the cruiser, tablet in hand. The moving dot on it was Magnum and they were gaining on him. He'd stopped for about fifteen minutes and then started moving again. This time it was only for a few minutes before he stopped again. "What is he doing?" She asked.

"Good question." Katsumoto answered from the front seat. He was still angry with the man but also very worried. His phone rang and he frowned at the caller id. Headquarters. He thumbed the slider to answer. "Katsumoto." Listening to what he was being told, he closed his eyes. The P.I. was in some serious trouble. "Acknowledged." He said and hung up.

"What? What's going on?" Juliet was frustrated at being left out.

"That was my boss. An update on the BOLO for Pryce just came in." He looked at her. "Higgins, he has Magnum."

"What?! How?" She felt fear for the man who'd begun as a thorn in her side and somehow morphed into a good friend.

"Ambushed after helping out his young friends. We're almost at the address where it happened."

"We should be following him, not stopping where he isn't anymore!" She pointed at the tablet, where the dot that was Magnum was moving again.

"We need to check in at the scene. The kids are still there, they may have some more information that will help us. We need to know what we're up against."

"And if they don't, we'll have wasted time! Time Magnum may not have!" Her voice was a bit shrill.

"As long as he still has his phone on him, we can track him. A few minutes won't hurt, and we could get something useful. Besides, something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"If Pryce is here to get revenge on the two of you, why did he take Magnum? Why not just kill him right there and take off? He also left three witnesses, even if they are just kids."

"You think something else is going on?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's a trap for you. In which case, we can't just bring you right to him. We need to be careful. Magnum wasn't and now look."

"He was helping out three kids who were in trouble!"

"What kind of trouble? Why didn't he let the rest of us know? Why go haring off alone?" That omission still rankled.

She didn't have an answer for that. Sometimes she wasn't sure what motivated Magnum to do the things he did. Just that he didn't seem to mind putting himself in harm's way to help another, especially if it was a friend or a child. A friend who was a child? There was nothing he wouldn't do to help them, no matter the cost to himself. She huffed out a sigh, knowing she didn't have a choice in where they went as she wasn't driving. When they rounded the final corner before arriving at the address, she saw the flashing blue lights of a police cruiser already there. Iona screeched to a stop and the Porsche followed suit. Rick and T.C. were out of it and running towards the black Jeep before Katsumoto could warn them to stay put. Higgins was a heartbeat behind them.

The three boys looked over at the commotion and, when they saw Magnum's two friends heading their way, broke away from Hale to run to meet them. Hani launched himself at Rick, who wrapped his arms around the boy in surprise. "You have to find him! You promised you'd keep him safe!" The young boy cried.

"I know, buddy, I know, and we will. What happened?" Rick asked.

"Thomas came and saved Alika, just like he promised. We were going somewhere else, he didn't say where, just away. A car blocked the road and he tried to back the Jeep up, but another one pulled up behind us, blocking us in. A guy got out and he had a gun. Thomas went with them and they hit him over the head." Kakune said.

Hani added. "I heard the guy say to be careful, that he needed Thomas alive."

Katsumoto had finally made it to the group as did Hale. They knew each other and said a quick hello as they listened in to the boys telling their tale. "And then he said to tell Higgins and the rest of Thomas's friends that Ian Pryce said hello." Alika finished out the story.

The adults exchanged worried looks. This was not going the way they would expect for someone who was out for revenge. Higgins forced herself to smile at them. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Higgins. Juliet Higgins."

Alika shook it and tilted his head at her. "You're pretty."

"Well, thank you. You're quite handsome yourself." Alika puffed up a little, forgetting for a moment why they were all there.

Annie barked from the middle of the road, where she'd been sniffing around looking for Thomas since the cops had let her out of the Jeep. "Annie! Come here girl." Rick patted his leg. The dog hesitated, looking up and down the street, then trotted over to him. She leaned up against his leg and whined, sounding disconsolate. "I know girl, we're worried about him too." Rick patted her head. "We'll find him, don't you worry." He looked up to find Higgins and T.C. looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing, Orville, not a thing." T.C. answered with a smile. He immediately sobered. "She's right to be worried. Why would Pryce take Thomas and not only let the kids go, but tell them who he is and ask them to pass on a message?"

"Katsumoto and I were talking about the same thing after he got an update from his boss. That this doesn't make sense." Higgins said.

"You think he's hoping you'll come after him?" Rick asked.

She held up the tablet, showing the moving dot. "Ian was an excellent MI6 agent. He knows better than to leave someone's GPS active on their cellphone. Knows that it can be tracked. If it's on, it's because he wanted it to be and that he most likely knew it would be me doing the tracking. So, the answer is, yes."

"He has to know you won't be alone." T.C. said.

"Like Magnum wasn't?" She asked.

"That was different. He went to help someone."

Katsumoto frowned. "Yeah, about that." He turned to the boys. "Can you fill me in on what happened? What made Magnum come racing out here?"

The boys exchanged looks, having a silent conversation. All three nodded, needing to help the man who'd risked everything to keep his promise to them. Alika told them everything, knowing that it would mean that the thing they feared most would happen. They'd be split up. When they were done, Alika looked at Katsumoto. "I suppose now we'll be taken by DHS and put in foster homes?" The despair in his voice got to the detective.

Smiling at him, he said. "Magnum was already working on that for you." The boy's expression immediately changed from worry to anger, thinking their friend had betrayed them. The detective read them correctly and said. "He never said a word to me, because he knew I'd follow the rules. He was just starting to work with Miss. Teuila to see what she could do. She knows a lot of people on the island and had already agreed to try to find a home where all three of you could stay together. She only told me when he bolted from the estate, and only then because she was worried about him."

Higgins stepped forward. "Detective, I believe these young men are witnesses to a crime and could be in danger from Ian. I think it would be best if they were taken to Robin's Nest to be under protective custody, don't you?" He pursed his lips, knowing it wasn't exactly by the book, but it did have a plausible sound to it. The boys would be safe there and would be together, at least for the time being. Hopefully, it would be long enough to find Magnum alive, get Pryce back in custody and find a home that would take in three boys. He quirked an eyebrow at his own thoughts. That's _all_ they needed to do, was it?

"That's not a bad idea. I'm sure Kumu wouldn't mind looking out for them while we search for Thomas." Rick said.

"Oh no, you three are going back with the boys." Katsumoto said. "This is a police matter and, now that we know he not only has Magnum, but is trying to trap Higgins, you all need to go home and stay out of harm's way." Rick snorted and T.C. just shook his head. No matter how often they disobeyed the detective's orders to stay out of things, he still tried every time. "I mean it. Pryce is dangerous."

"And he has our friend, our brother." Rick stared at him. The detective opened his mouth and then just closed it. They wouldn't listen to him and at least they'd be under his watchful eye. He frowned as he thought things through.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Katsumoto?" T.C. asked.

"Does it strike anyone else as awfully convenient that this Paulie E chose tonight to go after the kid's parents? The very night Magnum returned to the estate? That he hung around that house for as long as he did? He had to know the two younger kids had escaped, yet he didn't go after them, didn't try to get out while he had the chance. If they called the cops on him, he was a sitting duck."

"Are you saying it was deliberate?" Higgins asked, her mind putting things together and not liking what she was coming up with.

"Maybe."

"But how would he even know about the boys?" She asked.

"He's been watching all of us. Magnum left the estate before he had a chance to get eyes on him. Once he returned, he was never alone. Neither of you were." He thought about it some more. "When Pryce was on the estate the last time, was he ever alone?"

"Of course. I had no reason to be suspicious of him then."

"Could he have bugged the place?"

"Why would he do that?"

"Insurance."

"Maybe, but that doesn't track. Thomas didn't say anything to anyone about the boys except Kumu and he got the call just minutes after he did. There wasn't enough time to set up something so elaborate."

"You're right." Katsumoto thought for a minute. "Okay, so he's been on the island for several days, knew you were under protective custody and he had no idea where Magnum was. He had more than enough time to bug other places." He looked at T.C. and Rick.

They both frowned and T.C. asked. "You think he might have bugged Rick's place and mine? Maybe the chopper?"

"It's possible. How protected is it during the night?"

"Not much. I mean, it's behind a locked gate at Island Hoppers and you need the keys, which I always have on me. But, if you weren't looking to steal it, just to bug it, it wouldn't be hard." He looked sick.

"So, he heard us find Magnum and learned about the boys. How'd he find out where they live? That their home life wasn't the best? None of us knew until Kumu told us. He couldn't have heard us talk about it." Rick said.

"If you have enough money to throw at something, you can find out anything." Katsumoto said. "Maybe he just looked into them to see if he could use them somehow. Must have thought he hit the jackpot when he found out how bad things were at the kid's house. He didn't know Magnum long but the fact that he can't seem to stop himself from helping someone in trouble, is obvious to people right away. Add in his connection to the boys and Pryce could probably predict how he'd react, right down to him leaving all of us in the dark."

"Psychology was a strong suit of his." Higgins said. She turned away, knowing that none of this would have happened if not for her and her relationship with the man. A big hand landed on her right shoulder and she looked up into T.C.'s eyes.

"Don't."

"I'm quite sure I don't know what you mean."

"Look, we've had years of practice at knowing when someone is blaming themselves for bringing another person into our lives. Someone who turned out not to be who they pretended to be. Someone who betrayed us in the end. It's not your fault."

"Hannah?" She asked.

He nodded as he answered. "Hannah. Thomas blames himself for our capture, for Nuzo's death, for everything that happened to us. Rick once told you that they liked to throw Thomas in the hole for long periods, but not the why. Because he blamed himself, he did everything in his power to make sure the Taliban concentrated on him. Stole food, a radio, even a gun. The bullets he took from that and hid away, came in handy later. And they cooperated with him by beating him, torturing him. Leaving us pretty much alone. Oh, we still got our share, but the lion's portion went to him."

"But that's all on her." She immediately responded.

"And this is all on Pryce." T.C. said.

She nodded. She knew he was right, but somehow, she still felt guilty. She walked away and he let her, knowing she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. A few minutes later, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and her heart raced. Answering, she asked quietly.

"Magnum? Where the hell are you?"

~,~,~,~,~


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

~,~,~,~,~

A voice she never wanted to hear again, answered her instead of Magnum. "Sorry to disappoint you, my dear Juliet."

"Ian." She said flatly. "What have you done with Thomas?"

"Oh, it's Thomas now, is it? I wonder what Richard would think of you shacking up at the estate with our friend Mr. Magnum?"

She saw red and hissed. "Don't you ever speak his name! Do you hear me? You aren't worthy to say it!"

"Oh, my dear Juliet, are we still upset about that?"

"What do you think, you bloody wanker?!"

"My, my, such language from a lady." His voice changed as he continued, became all business instead of the teasing tone he'd been using. "Let's get down to it, shall we? I have something you want, and you have something I want."

"The something I want's name is Thomas and what do I have that you want?" She knew exactly what he was after.

"Why, your lovely self, of course! You come to me and I'll let you have your Thomas."

"He's not _my_ Thomas and how do I even know he's still alive?"

"I thought you might ask me for proof of life. So predictable. Let me put him on."

There was silence and then Magnum's voice. "Higgy?"

"Thomas! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." There was a pause and then he said in a rush. "Whatever he wants, don't do it…" He was cut off sharply as she heard him grunt, knowing from she'd heard that he'd been hit. Again.

"Sorry you didn't have longer to talk. I'm afraid Mr. Magnum is not a very gracious guest." In fact, the man had been a royal pain in the ass. If he hadn't needed him, Magnum would be dead. He'd fought, even tied to a chair. Had broken said chair, and damn it, it was an expensive one that didn't belong to him, just like the house they were holed up in didn't. He'd also knocked out the man he had guarding him and almost escaped. He was now more securely tied to another chair, hand and foot. "Listen to me carefully, Juliet. Turn off the GPS on your phone. You come to me, without your friends or the cops, and I'll let him live. You tell anyone and I'll know."

Her eyes widened. "You have someone on the police force, don't you?"

"Actually, several someones, amongst other places." His boasted and then his voice hardened. "I mean it Juliet, you tell the cops, or your friends and Thomas Magnum is a dead man. You know I'll do it."

She did. "How do I find you?" She asked flatly.

"Follow the cellphone." He knew he was taking a chance by leaving it on, as the cops could track it as well, but they'd need a warrant and that took time. Plus, he had people in place that would make sure that the said warrant took longer than necessary. He could have just given her the address, but he liked the game, wanted to make her work for it, wanted to make her worry, make her pay for what she'd done to him. It never occurred to him that his game was a little crazy, that he didn't realize he was slowly losing his contact with reality.

When the line went dead, she wondered what to do. For a minute, she contemplated going against his orders and telling at least Rick and T.C. what was going on. She dismissed it because she knew Ian. He was smart and he was a stone cold killer. Saving Thomas was going to be up to her. But how to get away? She'd come with Katsumoto and Iona in the cruiser and Iona was guarding it. It would take too long to hotwire the Porsche. She'd never be able to get it started and be away before they caught her. Her eyes landed on the Jeep and narrowed. Looking around, she saw everyone was occupied, mostly with the boys who seemed to be enjoying the attention and telling their tale to anyone who would listen, although it seemed to be punctuated with a lot of requests to do something to save their friend. She casually sauntered over to the vehicle and peeked in, unable to believe her luck. The keys were still in it. She knew she wouldn't have much time once she started it up.

She surveyed her surroundings. One cruiser was parked in front of the Jeep. The one she and Katsumoto had come in, along with Rick's car, were behind it, but none of them was actually blocking it in. If she got in and moved out quickly, she should get enough of a head's start to lose them. They'd be caught by surprise and would have to stop to take care of the boys. The only ones who might have a shot, would be Rick and T.C., but they'd have to maneuver around Iona's cruiser, losing valuable time. She was thankful that she'd unconsciously brought the tablet with her when she'd bolted out of the cruiser when they'd arrived, pretty much forgetting she was even holding it in her anxiety to find out what was happening. She wouldn't have to waste valuable time going back for it, taking the chance that their preoccupation with the boy's wellbeing, and the story they had to tell, might wane and their attention focus on her.

She opened the door quietly, waiting for someone to ask her what she was doing. They were all busy and, as she was unobserved for the moment, she took advantage and started to get in, almost surprised into making enough noise to give her away when Annie muscled by her and jumped in. The dog sat in the passenger seat and looked at her, as if to say, 'time's wasting, let's get going'. She wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, taking the dog with her, but she didn't have time to try to force her out. Not to mention, it would call attention to them and they would all be asking her questions about what she was doing and why. Sighing, she settled in the driver's seat and silently closed the door. She sat for a second, working out her path in her mind's eye. The fact that Magnum had blacked out the overhead light, had worked in her favor.

Satisfied that she had a plan, she turned the key. Nine pairs of startled eyes turned towards the Jeep as she quickly maneuvered it out into the open. Katsumoto was running towards her instantly, yelling at her to stop, as Rick and T.C. raced for the Porsche. She was able to avoid the detective, who immediately switched directions, heading towards Iona and their cruiser. The other two officers were standing protectively in front of the boys. Once out of the cluster of cars, she gunned it and raced away, glancing at the tablet she'd laid on the console. She was heading in the right direction and prayed she'd be in time.

Behind her, Rick jumped into the front seat of the Porsche and then wasted precious time digging his keys out of his pocket. T.C. took advantage of the lag and hopped into the passenger seat, knowing full well his friend would have left him behind in his single-minded determination to get to Higgins and, thereby, to Magnum. Finding the keys, Rick started the sports car and shoved it into gear, heading in the same direction as the Jeep.

"Where do you think she's going?" T.C. asked quietly.

"Where do you think?"

"After our boy." It wasn't a question.

"Exactly my thoughts. Next question. Why?"

"She obviously knows something we don't."

"You think Pryce got to her?"

"What?!"

"Not like _that_, I mean that he somehow got her to go help Thomas alone, without us."

"How?"

Rick thought for a moment and then asked. "They didn't find his phone at the scene, did they?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then how do you think she'd react if he called her from it?"

"She'd hope he'd had gotten away and was calling for help. She'd answer."

"And if it _wasn't_ Thomas?"

"She'd do whatever Pryce asked her to, if he threatened to hurt Thomas. He's using our boy as bait to get her too." T.C. paused. "She blames herself for this, you know."

"Magnum syndrome?"

"Yeah. We talked about it. She said it was her fault Pryce came into our lives. Sound familiar?"

Rick sighed. "Yeah. You tell her it's not her fault?"

"I did. Can you guess what her reaction was?"

"She nodded and agreed, and went right on blaming herself?"

"Got it in one."

"Jesus, they're more alike than either one of them knows."

"I've noticed that."

The two exchanged a tense smile. Rick turned his attention back to the road. He didn't have the Jeep in sight and no way to track her. The only thing he could hope for was that she didn't turn off onto a side road to lose them. The hope was dim. She was a trained spy and could probably do this in her sleep.

Juliet sat in the driveway of a darkened house on a side street, the Jeep idling and the lights off. She watched the Porsche fly by the end of the street and found herself wishing the two men were with her. Stifling that thought, she waited to see if they were followed.

Katsumoto had dived into the passenger seat of Iona's cruiser, after taking a moment to make sure that Hale and Kawai would take the kids to Robin's Nest, remembering his promise to try to keep them together, even in the midst of the newest drama. He was also damning the moment Magnum and his band of merry mischief makers had barged into his life. Things had been so much easier before them. Things back then were black and white, not this annoying shade of grey. Iona fired up the vehicle and pealed out, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to keep up with the other performance sports car if Wright pushed it. The two stared ahead, not exchanging a word.

Juliet waited and was rewarded with Iona's cruiser passing her position with Katsumoto in the passenger seat. She looked at the tablet and noted the direction she'd have to take. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how she looked at it, her direction would be different from her friends. She was not really surprised when she realized the men had become her friends. She wasn't upset by it, the three of them were good men. She upped the number by one when including Magnum. Once she was sure that no one else would be following, she eased out of her hiding spot and followed the cellphone, as directed.

~,~,~,~,~

Magnum looked up at Pryce and wasn't happy to see two of them. One was enough. Definitely a concussion then. He closed his eyes and focused his attention on the nausea he was experiencing from the second blow to his head. When he thought he could open his eyes without throwing up, he did so. Pryce was looking down at him with a curious expression on his face.

"How do you feel?"

"How do you think?" Magnum spit out.

Pryce smiled. "You have no one to blame but yourself. If you'd kept your mouth shut and just said what I told you to, I wouldn't have had to hit you again." He'd given the P.I. a specific script for when Juliet asked to speak to him, as he'd known she would.

Magnum snorted and then tamped down the resulting wave of sickness. He knew he was bait and there was no way he would be part of Juliet being caught. Sadly, he also knew she wouldn't heed his warning and would come anyway. Getting the desire to vomit under control, he finally responded. "Did you really think I'd ask her to come save me? Knowing what was waiting for her?"

"What, exactly, was waiting for her?" Pryce seemed curious.

"Please. You get both of us in one place, and we're both dead." He knew that something else was going on and hoped to wind Pryce up enough to let something slip. If he'd simply wanted them dead, there were easier ways to go about it and he certainly wouldn't be sitting here, tied to a chair. Unfortunately, the man didn't cooperate.

Pryce laughed. "You're really of no use to me dead, Thomas." He only repeated what Magnum already knew.

"Mr. Magnum." Thomas retorted, knowing it would irritate the man. He was rewarded when the supercilious look on the assassin's face changed to anger. He was starting to think Ian Pryce was not playing with a full deck anymore.

"_Thomas_, or may I call you _Tommy_?" Pryce responded.

"Neither." He spat out.

"Too bad, _Tommy boy_." Pryce drawled as he aimed his gun at Magnum's head, sorely tempted to shoot the annoying man in the head and just be done with it. Still, that wasn't in the plans. He sighed deeply and then had a thought. With a smile on his face, he raised an eyebrow at his prisoner and slowly moved the gun down his body, finally coming to a stop pointing at the right thigh. Thomas stiffened and gritted his teeth, just knowing what was coming, recognizing the look in the man's eyes. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. He really should watch his smart mouth.

"You've been almost more trouble than you're worth, trying to escape and all. We can't have you trying that again, now can we?" With that, he pulled the trigger and it was all Magnum could do not to scream as he felt the bullet tear into his flesh, but he refused to give the man the satisfaction. Ian was disappointed, he'd wanted to hear the man scream in agony as revenge for destroying his life. When it wasn't forthcoming, he almost decided to push the envelope and then stopped himself. Time enough for that later. Once he had what he wanted, Juliet Higgins and Thomas Magnum would be dead. He turned and walked away, leaving Magnum bleeding in the chair.

~,~,~,~,~

Juliet kept one eye on the road and one on the tablet. She was getting closer. When the phone rang, it startled her into almost running off the road. Righting the car and getting her heart rate under control, she eyed the phone in its hands-free holder. The caller id told her who it was. Taking a deep breath, she answered.

"What do you want, Ian?"

"Just checking in on your progress, my dear."

"I'm not your dear. I hope to be, however, your worst nightmare."

He chuckled. "You always did have a way with words. How close are you?"

"Close."

"Well, you'd better hurry. Your Thomas is…a bit worse for wear than the last time we spoke."

"What did you do to him?" She asked him fiercely.

"Well, he was a bit reluctant to cooperate. Tried to escape. I may have had to put a bullet in his leg to stop him from attempting again."

"He dies, there is no place on earth that you can hide from me." The rage in her voice was evident even to her.

"Please, Juliet, I'm very good. I know how to hobble a man without endangering his life." He was offended.

"Not so good that Magnum and I didn't figure out who you were and stop you." She responded fiercely.

Pryce's face tightened in anger. She was not as cowed as she should be. Didn't she know who she was dealing with? Fighting a losing battle with himself, he raised the gun once again and Magnum closed his eyes in despair. He'd deliberately come back into the room to call her, wanting the P.I. to be able to hear him taunting her about what he'd done. "Juliet, you really need to be a bit more conciliatory. I'm afraid you've just earned your Thomas another lesson." He cocked the gun and fired.

The boom of the gun echoed through the phone line. "What have you done?" She shouted, losing control and frightening Annie, who cowered against the passenger door. She felt bad for scaring the animal, but she was pretty scared herself, not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, not even to the dog.

Calmly, he responded. "I simply aerated your friend a bit more. Nothing to worry about, I didn't hit anything vital." He cocked his head at Magnum, who was rapidly paling. "Although, I must say, he looks a bit poorly." His voice became vindictive. "You'd better be here soon, or I can't vouch for his continued existence."

"I'm fifteen to twenty minutes away." She responded dully.

"Good. See you soon!" He signed off as if it were nothing more than a lunch date. Juliet released her white knuckled grip on the steering wheel only to pound on it, scaring the dog again, who whimpered.

"I'm sorry, Annie." She reached out and stroked the silky soft head. "Thomas has got himself into quite the pickle. It's up to the two of us girls to get him out." The dog leaned into her hand and whined. Juliet wished she could do the same.

~,~,~,~,~

A few minutes after starting his fruitless pursuit of the Jeep, Rick let up on the gas and pulled over to the side of the road. T.C. frowned and asked. "Why did you stop? We need to catch up to Higgy before Pryce ends up with both of them!"

"I stopped because we don't know where she is or where she's going. For all we know, we could be driving further and further away from both of them." He'd followed in the hopes that they'd catch up to her immediately. At this point, if they hadn't already, they weren't going to.

T.C. opened his mouth to argue but closed it again. He knew his friend was right. Their racing into the night with no idea of where they were going, had been a knee jerk reaction and wasn't going to help Thomas or Juliet. Still, he needed to be doing something, anything! He was about to ask what they could be doing instead, when the police cruiser pulled over behind them. They all got out of their cars and met in the middle.

"Why did you stop? Did you hear something?" Katsumoto asked.

Rick sighed. "No, I just came to my senses. We have no clue where we're going." He did have an idea though. He had some favors he could call in, but he was pretty sure the detective wouldn't like it. For his part, Katsumoto could have kicked himself. He'd let three civilians dictate his actions and, if he'd just thought about it, he'd have come to the same conclusion and now they'd wasted time.

"I'll get started on that warrant to track Magnum's cell. If it's still on." He should have already done that instead of letting Higgins do the tracking. More time wasted.

Rick bit his lip. "Look, same argument. It will take time." He looked at his watch. "It's one in the morning and any judge you wake up to get it, is not going to be happy." He paused. "I have an idea."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Katsumoto had already allowed himself to be talked into doing something he should have known better than to do and he wasn't sure he was willing to try again.

"I have a…friend…who might be able to help us track Tommy's phone."

"Do you think it's still on?" T.C. asked, echoing the detective's words.

"I do. Juliet is following something to get to him. Like she said, he left it on for a reason. If it's so that she can track it, there's no reason why we can't too." He knew Kawika had a state of the art tracking system he used to locate cars he wanted to steal. It was illegal, but then, the man's entire business was illegal.

"That isn't logical. Pryce is a smart man, he has to know Juliet is not the only one who'd be able to track Thomas's phone." T.C. said.

"I don't think anything this idiot has done recently, has been logical." Rick retorted.

Katsumoto weighed the odds and finally nodded. "Do it."

Rick found the contact and dialed. Kawika answered almost immediately. "Rick Wright, what's up brah? Don't you know what time it is?"

"Your business is conducted during the night, _brah_. I knew you'd be up. Look, I need to call in a favor."

"What do you need?" Kawika actually did owe the man, and Ice Pick, several favors.

"I need you to use your GPS tracking system to find someone."

"What tracking system?"

"Kawika, please, let's not do this. This is important and we may not have much time."

The chop shop owner frowned, not liking the sound of the man's voice. "Who do you need to track?"

"Magnum."

"Why?"

"He's been kidnapped."

"Again?!"

"Yeah, long story. He's in trouble and now Juliet is on her way to him. She's going to be in trouble shortly too."

"Juliet? That pretty blonde Brit you brought to the shop with you the last time your friend was kidnapped?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"You got it, brah. How do you want to do this?"

"You find where Thomas's phone is and let me know. We wipe the slate clean."

Kawika was tempted. Still. "This one's a freebie, kaʻu hoaaloha. Give me the number." He'd moved into his office and was already booting up his laptop. When it was up, he opened the tracking system he used to locate various cars, specific ones either for a buyer or as a parts car. High end cars tended to have GPS onboard, to track it if it got stolen or the owner got into a situation. One of his guys was a computer nerd and could hack pretty much any system, including OnStar. He'd get the GPS information and they'd boost the car under cover of night once they knew where it was. Rick's car, and any owned by Robin Masters, however, were off limits. The system could also track a cellphone. He entered the number and waited. When it finally found it, he watched for a bit. It was stationary.

"Found it, brah. He's not moving." He read off the location. Rick wasn't sure if he was happy to find out that he'd been right, they had been heading in the wrong direction. He was more relieved that he'd had the idea to call on his friend.

"Mahalo, Kawika. Come into the club any time and dinner is on me."

"I'll hold you to that. Laki maikaʻi."

"I'm gonna need it."

Kawika didn't like the sound of that. "You be careful, you hear me?"

"Always." Rick frowned at the snort that sounded on the other end, but he let it go. "I'll talk to you later."

"Let me know if you find them." He'd liked the confident woman who'd come into his shop after his guys had found the Ferrari abandoned on the side of the road, and he'd met Magnum several times. He knew he, Rick and T.C. were close, more like family than friends. That meant something to him, plus he'd liked the P.I.'s laid back attitude.

"I will. Aloha." Rick hung up and gave Katsumoto the address. The detective merely raised an eyebrow and shook his head a little. He may not like it, but Magnum and his friends were resourceful and tenacious. Traits that had come in handy in the past, although he may not have liked their methods. The four men got back into the two cars and headed out, now with a definitive destination.

~,~,~,~,~

Juliet finally pulled up to the gates of an estate and frowned. The GPS indicated Thomas's cell was inside. Did Pryce own an estate on Oahu? If so, why hadn't the American government seized it? She thought for a moment and then rolled down the window. Reaching out, she hit the intercom button.

"Juliet?"

"Who else?" She was so done playing his game.

"You made good time."

"Enough! I'm here, just like you wanted me to be. Open the sodding gate!"

"Language! Really, Juliet, I think your American friends have corrupted you."

"Give it a rest, Ian. I'm here, just like you wanted. Now let me in." The gates stated to swing open and she took a deep breath, centering herself, feeling the calm sweep over her as she knew this was it. She'd need to be on her A game to rescue Thomas and get both of them out of this alive. That Ian would be either dead or in their custody, was a given. There was no way she was letting him get away again. She slowly drove up the driveway to the mansion that would normally have had her appreciating it's beauty. Right now, however, it was just a place and she was more concerned with how many men Ian had with him and how well armed they were. She spotted two patrolling the outside of the house, carrying automatic rifles and she sighed. She parked the car in front and opened the door. Annie leapt over her and disappeared into the night. She hoped the little Spaniel stayed far away and had a good life in front of her. She stepped out and turned towards the door. It opened and Ian stood in the doorway.

"Juliet, so good to see you again."

"Ian. I wish I could say the same. Where's Magnum?"

"Inside." He stepped to the side and gestured her in. She followed his lead, tamping down her desire to just shoot him. She still had her gun and wouldn't think twice about using it. However, she had no idea how many more men he had with him on the inside. Any of whom could kill Magnum if she killed Ian. He stopped her at the entrance and patted her down.

Finding her gun easily, Ian smiled. "Ah, ah, my dear. Wouldn't do to have you wandering around armed." He pulled it from her waistband and put it in his own. "Now, if you would be so kind to head inside."

She obeyed his orders and then waited in the entry way, ignoring the beauty surrounding her. Ian walked past her and gestured for her to follow. She did so and trailed him down a hall, entering a living area similar to the one at Robin's Nest, the front open to the ocean vista and welcoming sea breezes. She scanned the room, instantly finding Magnum tied to a chair and looking very pale, blood staining his pants and shirt. Another man stood behind him with his arms folded across his chest, a holstered Beretta very evident. She almost smiled at the swollen right eye and split lip. She knew who that was curtesy of. She hurried to his side, heart pounding.

"Thomas, are you okay?"

He looked up at her and squinted to focus, having a hard time with it. "Juliet, you shouldn't have come! You know it's what he wanted."

"I know."

~,~,~,~,~

Wanker - a contemptible person (used as a general term of abuse)

Kaʻu hoaaloha – My friend.

Mahalo – thank you

Laki maikaʻi – good luck

Brah - Brother


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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T.C. picked up Rick's cellphone and started going through the contacts, needing something to do to distract him as they drove.

"What, exactly, do you think you're doing?" Rick asked. He didn't really care, there was nothing on there that he wouldn't have given his brother, with no qualms. He was just curious.

"Kumu's number."

"Why? And what makes you think I'd have it?"

"First, you collect contacts like other people collect coins or stamps. Second, I thought it might be a good idea to let her know Hale and Kawai are on their way to the Nest with three boys we're expecting her to take care of."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's it?"

"What did you want? An atta boy?"

"Yes, seeing as no one else thought to give the woman a head's up."

"Atta boy."

They started at each other and then laughed. Sobering, Rick said. "First thing Thomas is going to ask, is if those kids are okay."

"Yeah and we can tell him they're in the best possible hands. Kumu's."

"True that."

T.C. hit her contact and listened to the phone dial. She picked it up on the first ring, asking anxiously. "Rick? Did you find him?"

"It's Theodore. Sorry Kumu, not yet. We're working on something though. I just wanted to give you a heads up that two HPD officers are on their way there with the three brothers Thomas was asking you about. They're witnesses to Pryce taking Thomas and are now under police protection. Higgins suggested that they'd be safest at the Nest."

"She's a smart girl. Can I talk to her?"

"Uh."

"Where's Juliet?" She knew something was up just by the way T.C. had responded.

"She's gone after Thomas. We have a location for him and are on our way there now. We'll keep her safe."

"You make sure you do that!"

"You know we will. We'll keep both of them safe from this psycho."

"I know you will."

"We'll keep you up to date."

"I'll be waiting. And, Theodore? The boys will be fine."

"I know they'll be in the best possible hands."

"Thank you."

"I mean it."

"I know you do. Talk to you soon?"

"I hope so."

He hung up and looked at Rick, who could only shrug.

~,~,~,~,~

Juliet knelt by the chair and looked critically at Thomas. He squinted back at her, still trying to focus on her face. She took in the gash over his eye that had stopped bleeding but left a lovely trail of dried blood down his face. The boys had said he'd been hit from behind, so that was either from his fight with Ian's minion or from when Ian had hit him when Magnum had tried to warn her off. Lifting a hand to his head, she gently felt the back of it, finding a lump, the hair still tacky with more blood, although it seemed to have stopped bleeding as well. His eyes tightened in pain, but he didn't make a sound. She smiled at him.

"Headache?" She asked quietly.

"No thanks. Already have one."

"Very funny. And very original. Nausea?"

"Comes and goes."

"Concussion, then."

"Probably." He sounded distressingly nonchalant about it.

She sighed and moved her inspection down his body. The left side of his shirt was soaked with blood and she gently raised it to get a better look. It was still bleeding sluggishly but didn't appear to be too bad. She leaned around his back, finding a larger hole where the bullet had exited his body. That was bleeding a bit more as exit wounds tended to be worse than the entry ones but it, too, did not appear life threatening at the moment. She was more worried about the one in his thigh. She gently palpitated it and he hissed in pain, the first sound of discomfort he'd made since she began her assessment of his condition.

"I'm sorry." She said as she slipped her hand under his thigh, checking for another exit wound. He just nodded and bit his lip. She didn't find what she was looking for and frowned. That meant the bullet was still in his leg. She looked up at him. "The bullet's still in there."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not. It's his."

Pryce frowned at the two of them, they were completely ignoring him and talking about him as if he wasn't even in the room. Not liking the fact that he wasn't the center of their terrified attention, he stepped closer.

"If you're quite done playing doctor, Juliet, let's get down to business, shall we?"

She continued to ignore him, hearing the disgruntled tone in his voice. If she could make him angry, he might make a mistake. She wouldn't be pleased to know how closely her thoughts mirrored Magnum's from earlier.

"If it wasn't for my association with him, you wouldn't be in this predicament."

"Still not your fault. Still his."

"And if I said the same about Hannah?"

"That's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

"She betrayed you. She betrayed all of you. She shot you."

"Not the same." He said stubbornly.

At this point, Pryce was beyond irritated and lashed out with a foot, catching Higgins in the side, as she was in a vulnerable position, and pushing her over. Magnum struggled in the chair, feeling the wounds in his side and thigh begin to bleed freely again. Ignoring them, he glared at the man. "Don't you touch her!" He roared, pulling wildly on the bindings that held him to the chair, opening new wounds on his wrists, wanting nothing more than to get his hands on the ex-MI6 agent and knock him on his ass, to beat him senseless.

"How gallant, Tommy boy." Pryce looked down at Juliet who was also glaring up at him. "She's a tough bird, she'll be fine." She pushed herself up to a sitting position and then rose to her feet. He kept his gun trained on her, knowing from experience how deadly she could be.

"Okay, Ian, you have us. Now what?"

He smiled delightedly at her. "I thought you'd never ask." He looked from her to Magnum and back again. "When you were kind enough to take me in after I got shot, I learned quite a bit about your employer. He's quite wealthy and seems to be inordinately fond of the two of you."

Magnum may have the mother of all headaches, but he was able to figure it out pretty quickly. He knew Higgins had as well when he heard her quick intake of breath.

"_Money_?" She asked incredulously. "_That's_ what this is all about? You want _money_ from Robin?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"You must have made millions murdering good people over the years." Magnum said. "Why in the world would you need more from Robin?"

Pryce frowned. "The British and American governments were a bit more…thorough…than I would have thought possible when they went about finding and seizing my assets. What I had left, I've had to use. Escaping custody was a bit more expensive than I'd bargained for. Agent Fowler, in particular, was dearer than I'd expected."

"He was in on it?" Higgins asked in shock. "But you killed him!"

"Yes, well, he did turn his back on Queen and country, taking money from me and breaking his oath."

"You mean like you did?" Thomas asked. He knew he'd hit a nerve when Pryce's hand holding the gun came up again. Juliet stepped in front of him, protecting him.

She asked brokenly. "Marcus?"

"Loyal until the end."

"Why would that bother you about Fowler?" She asked, relieved that her friend hadn't been involved.

"If he was willing to do that for money, then he wasn't trustworthy and could have turned on me at any moment."

"What about him and the rest of the men outside?" Higgins gestured towards the man who still hadn't moved through all of this. Her mentioning the other men clued Magnum in to the fact that it wasn't just Pryce and his man in the room, that there were more outside.

"Mercenaries. Also expensive, but they give their allegiance to whoever is paying them. Right now, that's me."

"And when you run out of said money?"

"I'll have more from your Mr. Masters by then." He said confidently as he turned to Magnum. "I understand that you're the inspiration for his books and that he feels he owes you. What do you think he'd pay to make sure you were unharmed?"

"He's hardly unharmed!" Juliet was the one who responded, angrily.

"He's alive, isn't he?"

Thomas frowned, ignoring that, thinking of the chain of events that had led to them being here. "How'd you know where I was?"

"Because I set it up." He boasted. "Another unexpected expense. You weren't at the Masters' estate with Juliet when I was finally able to set up surveillance. I had to bug your friend's helicopter to track you. It was painful listening to them obsessing over where you were. When they finally found you, it was a relief not to have to hear them talking anymore. Even then, however, I knew from what I'd heard that you'd never be alone." He paused for effect, wanting their admiration, not realizing he'd never get it.

"I had my sources track down the three boys. It wasn't hard. They stayed at the beach long enough for my men to get there and then follow them home. Once I found out who they were and where they lived, it was fairly easy to find out whatever I needed to know about them. The stepfather owes money to a drug dealer named Paulie E, stupid nickname by the way, and he was more than amendable to playing along with me. For a price. Yet another expense." He sighed for dramatic effect. Continuing, he said. "The one thing I learned about you from our time working together, is that you have a misplaced need to help everyone."

Magnum opened his mouth to disagree but shut it without saying anything. He wasn't stupid, he knew the man was right. Pryce continued with his monolog, reveling in showing them just how smart he'd been. "I had every intention of killing your friends, T.C. and Rick. Imagine my gratification when you showed up alone. Or maybe my disappointment. Rather stupid of you, really."

Magnum closed his eyes, feeling the relief flood his body that the boys had insisted he come alone. If his friends had died because of him, like Nuzo had, he knew he wouldn't have been able to handle it. Juliet knew that too, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Robin will never give you one penny." She said. "He's smart enough to know that you'll never let us go. You get the money, you kill us, and you take off for some country where you think no one can get to you. If you let us live, you know neither one of us will ever rest until you're either back in custody or dead." This time it was Juliet who paused for effect before she continued. "I know which of the two I'd prefer."

Ian's eyes showed his encroaching madness and it took Juliet by surprise. "Nonsense, my dear Juliet, he'll do everything he can to get his two employees, or should I say friends, back. I'm smarter than he is. As to your continuing life on this lovely island, well, that's really up to you." He held out Magnum's phone. "Call him."

"No."

"What?" He looked confused, as if he'd never contemplated that they wouldn't cooperate with him, do whatever he wanted them to.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand? No. I. Will. Not. Call. Robin." She enunciated each word clearly and slowly.

He raised the gun again, anger flushing his face bright red. "If you don't call him, you'll join your Thomas in the number of holes in your body."

She smiled. "Do it."

"Do what?" The confusion was back and Juliet knew something had snapped in the man. The old Ian would not have been so slow on the uptake. This Ian was a bit on the barmy side.

"Go ahead and shoot me. I won't call Robin, and neither will Magnum." She crossed her arms over her chest. Thomas nodded his head in agreement.

"You will!" Pryce's voice was loud and shrill.

"No, I won't." She replied calmly.

Suddenly he calmed and smiled broadly, insanity shining in his eyes. "If you won't call him, I have no incentive to keep either of you alive." He pointed the gun at Magnum once again.

~,~,~,~,~

Iona drove with one eye on the road and one on Katsumoto. He'd listened carefully as the man had reported in to their boss, bringing him up to speed as they raced towards who knew what. Katsumoto had made it clear that things were under control and they didn't need any additional backup, at least not yet. Too much activity and Pryce could spook, killing both of his probable hostages. And hadn't that been interesting, listening in on the explanation of how they'd gone from protection detail to tracking down two of their protectees who were now in the hands of a dangerous fugitive. The local police were being notified and put on alert, ready to assist at a moment's notice. He respected the detective and knew of his reputation of going by the book. That made this whole evening seem out of character. He worked up his courage and then asked.

"Detective?"

"Yeah." He took his eyes off the road and turned to Iona.

"Just out of curiosity, do you think we should have let Wright and Calvin take point on this?" He was careful to say 'we' so that it didn't sound like he was placing all the blame on the detective. He wasn't stupid.

Katsumoto sighed. "I've been asking myself that since the first time I met Magnum. I have no idea how he does it, but somehow he manages to get you to do what he wants, no matter how much your commonsense screams at you to not do it." He sounded tired, a little confused, and a lot aggravated.

"So, this isn't the first time."

"No. Sadly, it' s not." Katsumoto sat up straighter. "Yet, it always seems to work out. I've closed a couple cases because of those three men." He thought about the Amanda Sako case, about his dead partner, Stanley Tak. Magnum had gone above and beyond to solve that one, not even allowing his boss, Lt. Akana, to scare him off. He'd meant it when he'd presented Stanley's badge to Magnum as a thank you. The P.I. had been persistent in not letting it go and had been instrumental in getting Trevino arrested. He'd also made it a point to attend Stanley's funeral. The man was a force unto himself and Katsumoto wasn't always sure how to deal with the retired SEAL. Sometimes he wanted to stick the man in jail and throw away the key, other times he wanted to ask him how the hell he figured things out. He knew the man had been Naval Intelligence when he'd been in service which meant he wasn't stupid.

Iona thought about it. "He certainly seems to have connections on the island. Either through himself or his friends. They seem pretty close."

"You have no idea. Those three will go to the ends of the earth for each other. I guess being prisoners of war together will do that to you."

"_POW_? Magnum was a _POW_?"

"Yeah, he and three of his team were captured in Afghanistan. Held captive for just over eighteen months until they escaped. From what I understand, it's wasn't an easy incarceration."

"That's…that's amazing. Wait, three teammates? Who was the other one?"

"Sebastian Nuzo. He was killed a while back, another case." He knew that one had just about pushed Magnum over the edge.

"Well, that's too bad. What was his job in the service?" Iona was close to hero worship and Katsumoto heard it, knowing he needed to nip that in the bud.

"He was Naval Intelligence. Since he retired and became a private investigator, he constantly goes outside the law, putting cases at risk. I have a feeling he was the same in the Navy."

"You think he's a loose cannon?" Now they were back to his original train of thought.

"Sometimes."

"And his friends?"

"They tend to follow his lead, even when they know better."

"Must be nice."

"Sorry, what?"

"To have friends like that."

Katsumoto thought about it and wondered if he had friends like that. He was less than thrilled to find that the same three men were the ones who came to mind. He wouldn't admit, even to himself, that if he were in trouble, he'd want those three, four if you included Higgins, to be working his case.

~,~,~,~,~

Rick followed the cruiser, chafing at the need to go at their speed. He wanted nothing more than to bolt around them and leave them in his dust. He needed to get to Magnum and Higgins but he also needed the additional man power that Iona and Katsumoto represented. Pryce was not following any known playbook and it had him worried. Something wasn't right. Nothing about this made sense.

"What are you thinking, Orville?"

He looked at T.C. quickly and then back to the road. "Nothing,"

"I know better." T.C. was worried too. He knew something was off about this whole thing.

"It just doesn't make sense. Pryce could have killed Thomas back there. And why get Higgy to come to him?" He didn't really want to rehash this, but it was another puzzle in a long line of puzzles that this situation had become. Rick was getting tired of it.

"You think this is something more than just revenge?"

"Don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Then, what?" Rick knew what he was thinking, and he wanted to know if his friend was on the same wave length.

"What do Thomas and Higgins have in common?"

Rick nodded. "Robin."

"Exactly. I think this is about money." T.C. said. They'd both been trying to put things together and it was the only thing that made sense.

"Again." Rick said, thinking about Hannah.

"Neither Thomas nor Higgins will cooperate." T.C. thought back to when Thomas had been kidnapped by Foley and made to find the gold that was still hidden in the hold of the shipwreck. Before knowing what was going on, Higgins had posited that he might have been taken to get a ransom, based either on the fact that Magnum was driving a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar car or that Robin was known to have 'deep pockets'. Both of them had agreed then that Thomas wouldn't cooperate. Nothing had changed in their thinking. Thomas, and now most likely Higgins, would never help Pryce put the squeeze on Robin.

Rick slowed down when the cruiser did, both cars turning off their headlights. They were almost at the address they'd been given for Thomas's phone. The police car finally pulled over, just down the road from the gate to an estate. This was where Thomas and Higgins were supposed to be. The two got out of the Porsche and closed the doors silently, pulling out their weapons. They met the two police officers in the middle, both armed and just as quiet. They had no idea what they might be walking into. Silently, they approached the gate and watched the house that sat behind it. Luckily, it wasn't invisible from the road like the Masters' estate, being significantly smaller. The black Jeep was sitting out front, confirming that Higgins was inside. They kept watch for several minutes, counting only two armed men patrolling the perimeter. Finally, Katsumoto motioned them away.

Back at the cars, he said quietly. "The Jeep and the armed guards confirm we're at the right place. While Pryce only has two men patrolling, we don't know how many he might have inside. We get in, take them out and regroup."

Rick and T.C. nodded. Katsumoto turned to Iona to make sure he was up for it. The other man gave him a thumbs up, even though his heart was pounding in his chest. He'd only been in one fire fight in his career and nothing as cloak and dagger as this. The detective turned back to the other two men only to find thin air. In just a few seconds of inattention, both had melted into the night and were nowhere to be seen. Frustrated, he turned to Iona who only shrugged. He hadn't seen either man move either.

"Damn it, I should have handcuffed both of them to the cruiser." Katsumoto muttered quietly. Wisely, Iona doesn't respond. They both moved silently back to the gate, just in time to see Rick appear out of nowhere and efficiently put the lone visible guard in a choke hold, gently lowering him to the ground as he lost consciousness. He dragged the man out of sight. A few seconds later, the light by the front door winked out. When T.C. showed up at the gate to unlock it bare seconds after that, Iona barely kept himself from yelping in surprise. The gate opened silently, just enough to let the two through.

"I don't suppose it occurred to you to let me know what you were planning?" The detective hissed at him. T.C. merely raised his eyebrows in mock surprise and Katsumoto sighed. Seemed like he did that a lot around this group. "Never mind. Where's the other guard?"

"Neutralized."

Iona was shocked. "You were only gone a couple of minutes." He remembered to keep his voice down at the last minute.

"That's all it takes."

Before Katsumoto could say anything more, Rick showed up at their side. "Alarm's disconnected. We should be able to get inside with no problem as long as no one is watching the cameras. I couldn't turn them off or that would be as much a red flag as the alarm. We've both avoided them up to now, but we won't be able to as we go in the front door. With the light out, we shouldn't stand out as much. I didn't see Pryce, Higgins, Thomas or any other guards, but the house is pretty big."

"We need to have a serious discussion when this is over." The detective groused. Neither man paid attention, their focus on the mission, back in military mode. Rick made a couple hand gestures at T.C. who nodded and melted away once again. "Where's he going?"

"Around back. He'll find another entrance while we go in the front." Rick may have been a door gunner, but he'd been on enough missions to know how to organize an infiltration.

"We will, will we?"

The club manager just looked at him. The expression on his face sent a small shiver down the detective's back. This man had only one objective and nothing, and no one, was going to get in his way. Knowing it was useless to argue, not to mention counterproductive, he gestured for them to proceed. They quietly made their way to the front entrance, staying in the shadows as much as possible. They waited until, at some unspoken trigger, Rick slowly turned the door handle and pushed the door open silently, just enough for them to squeeze through. It was quiet inside. They moved slowly and silently, all three with guns drawn and aimed in front of them, silently clearing each area they passed through. When they heard Pryce yell "You will!" they exchanged looks and picked up their speed, headed in the direction the voice came from, caution on the back burner.

Inside the living room, Higgins dropped her arms and moved to stand in front of Magnum again, to shield him with her body. The merc behind her grabbed her around the waist and pinned her arms at her side. Ian smiled his approval and looked at the man tied to the chair, who had a defiant look on his face. The look sent Pryce over the edge, he was losing control of the situation and he was not happy. He cocked the gun, fully intending to shoot him and cut his losses. If he showed Masters that he was willing to follow through on his threats, maybe that would make the price on Juliet go up. Something was better than nothing.

Rick, Katsumoto and Iona rounded the corner in time to see Juliet fighting tooth and nail with a man almost twice her size and slowly getting the upper hand. Pryce had a gun pointed at Thomas and his intention was clear.

"Thomas!" Rick shouted as he aimed his gun at the ex-MI6 agent, who didn't flinch.

"I will shoot him before you shoot me, Mr. Wright." The man's British accent made him sound like he was having tea with the Queen.

"Yeah, but can you shoot him before _I _shoot you?" T.C. said from the area open to the ocean. He'd come around the back just as he and Rick had planned and found his way here only to find himself in time for a standoff. He really didn't dare just shoot Pryce, knowing the man could reflexively pull the trigger. The man might end up dead, but so would Thomas and that was not happening. Not on their watch.

The merc and Juliet had stopped fighting, both watching the scene unfold in front of them. Juliet was calculating her chances of protecting Magnum while the man was pondering if it was time to just walk away from this job. Pryce raised his arm a bit more, taking careful aim at the man he was now placing full blame for his current predicament on. In his addled mind, if he killed the P.I. then everything would right itself in his world, not believing that he'd be dead before he released the trigger.

There was dead silence for a moment, everyone frozen in place, when the sound of nails clicking on the floor broke it. A small white and brown streak raced past T.C. and launched at Pryce, latching onto his gun arm, dragging it down. The gun went off, the bullet lodging harmlessly in the floor as the small Spaniel hung on grimly. Pryce howled and began to dance around the room, the dog dangling from his arm as he screamed. "Get it off! Get it off!"

The merc took the opportunity to sidle out of the room, unnoticed by the rest of those inside it as they watched the man and dog gyrate around the room with open mouths. When the man finally regained control of himself, he raised his left arm to strike the dog and four shots rang out. He looked down at his chest in shock, not realizing he was already dead. Slowly, he crumpled to the ground, Annie still hanging onto his arm. Even when he was down, the little dog hung on, shaking her head and growling. Higgins stepped forward and stroked her head.

"You can let go now, Annie. You did good." She said quietly. The dog shook her head one last time and let go. She backed up and then looked around. Finding Thomas, she scurried to him and leaned against his legs.

Looking down at his body, Juliet said, without inflection. "I'd forgotten that Ian was terrified of dogs."

Magnum laughed, then spoke to Annie. "That's my girl. You saved my life, Annie girl. I guess we're even, huh?" He crooned at her. The dog preened a little, leaning in harder. He was wishing he could stroke her head when Higgins cut the ties holding his hands to the chair, then his feet. Smiling his thanks to her, he leaned down and patted the dogs head. What he wasn't anticipating was that he would continue his downward trajectory and end up on the floor, blood loss making him dizzy and uncoordinated. The Spaniel worriedly pressed up against him, licking his face as Katsumoto called it in, requesting an ambulance and Lt. Akana.

Rick and T.C. hurried to his side, worried about him. Magnum looked up from his position and squinted at them, hating the fact that there were four, no, six, no, four versions of his two friends. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. The four figures finally coalesced into two. He smiled up at them and they both smiled back in relief.

"Hey guys. Glad to see you!"

"We're glad to see you too! We need to have a serious talk about you running out on us without a word and getting yourself all jammed up!" T.C. said.

Magnum blinked a couple times and then tried to sit up, without much luck. "The boys! Are the boys okay?"

Rick and T.C. shared a look. "Told you." Rick said.

"Told him what? Where are the boys?" He tried to get up again, worried that something had happened to his three young friends.

"Relax, Thomas. The boys are with Kumu." They should be there by now. "She'll take good care of them." T.C. reassured him.

Sighing in relief, Magnum collapsed back on the floor. Now that the adrenalin rush was over, he was starting to crash and was feeling out of it. In the distance he could hear sirens as the world faded to black around him.

~,~,~,~,~

A/N – small epilogue to follow.

A/N2 – thanks to honus47 for proofing and finding my mistakes! All mistakes left are one me.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N - A big thank you to honus47 for being my beta throughout this whole story, and all my other ones! She encourages me but is honest and I do appreciate her so much!

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Chapter 11

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Rick and T.C. headed to the hospital, with Juliet wedged in the almost unusable back seat of the Porsche with Annie. They'd ended up airlifting Thomas as the nearest hospital was too far by ambulance in his condition. The paramedics had started an IV, bandaged him up and made noises about blood loss as they whisked him into the helicopter once it landed. Katsumoto and Iona had stayed behind to answer questions and give their statements to the local police who'd caught the case. The others would do so at the hospital as there was no way they weren't going where Magnum was and the detective hadn't even tried to stop them, just stressing that they would need to talk to the police shortly. They weren't sure what they were going to do with the dog once they got there, but they also weren't going to leave the heroine of the hour behind. Besides, they all knew Thomas would never forgive them. It was quiet in the car, none of them thinking of anything except the worry they felt when their friend had lost consciousness.

Rick finally thought to call Kumu to fill her in on the situation. She answered on the first ring, obviously still awake despite the late hour.

"Rick?"

"We got them Kumu!"

"Thank goodness. How are they?"

"Juliet's fine."

"Meaning Thomas isn't. What happened?"

"He took a beating and was shot twice. We're on the way to the hospital now."

"Is he going to be alright?" Rick could hear the anxiety in her voice.

"Of course! This is Thomas we're talking about. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." He quoted the old Timex slogan at her, wondering if he was trying to convince her or himself, remembering her saying the same to him when Hannah's goons had kidnapped Thomas to make him take them to the shipwreck with the gold. One of these days, Thomas would go down and stay down, if he wasn't more careful. Their boy was going to get an earful from multiple sources, once he was awake long enough to hear them.

"What about Pryce?"

"Dead."

"Good." Somehow, Rick didn't find her response all that surprising, For all her spiritualness, the woman was fiercely protective of her family and he knew that Juliet and Thomas had become that to her. What he didn't know, was that she included both T.C. and Rick, along with Katsumoto, in that category.

"Kumu, we have Annie with us. We're not sure what to do with her once we get to the hospital."

"Why didn't you leave her with Detective Katsumoto?"

"He's pretty busy right now and we thought Thomas wouldn't like it. Plus, she pretty much saved the day. If it wasn't for her, he'd probably be dead right now. Leaving her behind didn't seem…right."

"Where are they taking him, I'll meet you there and bring Annie back to the estate."

"Thanks, Kumu. They're airlifting him to Hawaii State."

"Airlift? How bad is he?" The anxiety had ratcheted up.

"Bad enough. Lost a lot of blood. He was unconscious when they loaded him up."

"Oh, Rick."

"I told you, he'll be fine!" He tried to project confidence in his voice.

"I'll hold you to that." Rick's stomach clenched. "The boys are asleep." She said, knowing that they would worry about the young boys at the same time as worrying about Thomas. All three had eaten ravenously, talking loudly about what had happened, trying to make it into a big adventure but she'd heard the worry and residual fear underneath. It had taken every bit of her persuasiveness to get them to go to bed, and they'd been asleep almost as soon as they hit the king size bed in one of the guest rooms, refusing to be separated. "I'll have one of the officers patrolling the estate come in and keep watch now that the danger from that man is over. I'll meet you there to bring Annie back."

"See you soon."

"Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"He's a fighter. He won't give up."

"I know, Kumu, I know."

"You're a good man, you all are." He heard the affection in her voice, and it heartened him.

"Mahalo."

"ʻO wau, e kuʻu hoaaloha." She hung up before he could say anything further.

"Kumu is going to meet us at the hospital and take Annie home." He told his friends.

"On her scooter?" T.C. asked, incredulous.

Juliet laughed, the first time in what felt like forever. "Kumu has an estate car she uses for shopping and other errands. She won't be using the scooter." A picture of Magnum and Luther Gillis, chugging down the road on Kumu's scooter when she'd taken the Ferrari away from him, flashed through her mind, Kumu then taking the place of Magnum and Annie that of Luther. The image made her feel better, although it was short lived, her worry about Thomas taking first place again.

They arrived at the hospital sooner than they should have, Rick breaking all kinds of speed limits and not getting stopped. They stepped out of the car and Annie started to make a beeline for the front door. Juliet stopped her, wishing she had a collar and leash with her. The dog struggled, only one thing on her canine mind, find her human and make sure he was okay.

Rick knelt in front of them and caught her head in his hand. Forcing her to look at him, he said softly. "I know you want to go in with him, little girl, but it's not allowed. We'll take good care of him. You need to let us do that." The other two watched him, not making fun of him, knowing that he had a way with animals. Zeus and Apollo adored him. The Spaniel sat and whined at him. "We're worried too. He's going to be okay."

Kumu arrived just moments later and hugged Juliet a little harder and longer than strictly necessary. She'd had the presence of mind to bring one of the Dobermans collars and leash with her. She handed the items to Rick, who gently put them on her and stood up. "You'll take good care of her, right Kumu?"

"Of course! She'll get a lovely dinner and then a comfortable place to sleep." She really wanted to stay there with them, to find out how Thomas was, but knew the dog was currently the center of their focus. Something they could do something about, unlike the fight Magnum was facing. That was all up to him.

Rick stood up and patted the dog's head. "We'll let you know how he's doing."

"Thank you." She and Annie watched them hurry into the hospital. Annie whined and pulled on the leash. "I agree, Annie. I wish we could go with them too. We have other responsibilities now, though. There are three young boys back at the estate who need our support. Come on now, let's go." She gently pulled on the leash and the Spaniel followed her, reluctantly, looking back over her shoulder as they went. Once inside the estate SUV, Annie ran to the back and watched forlornly as the hospital receded into the distance, small whimpers escaping her.

Inside, the three friends made their way to the emergency room and found the crew from the helicopter cleaning up their equipment, having delivered their patient to the waiting medical staff a while ago. "He's been taken into surgery." Said Steve, the lead paramedic, before they could ask.

"Thanks, man, for everything." T.C. said as he held out his hand. They shook and then he turned to head for the waiting room he was becoming uncomfortably familiar with. The others trailed tiredly behind him. Two hours later, three HPD officers showed up, along with Katsumoto, and took their statements. When they left, the detective stayed behind, refusing to admit he was concerned about the P.I. They waited another two and half hours before a surgeon popped his head into the waiting room. All four of them stood up and rushed him, each one asking for an update at the same time. The man held up his hand and they quieted.

"He's in recovery and doing well. He has a concussion, several cracked ribs and multiple contusions, to go along with the two gunshot wounds. The shots missed anything vital and he should be fine. He lost a lot of blood, but we were able to replace it. You can see him for a few minutes once he comes out of the anesthesia. I'll let the nurses know you're waiting." He was tired and wanted nothing more than some downtime in the doctor's lounge.

"Thanks, doc." T.C. said. The man nodded and made his way out of the waiting room, heading for his well-deserved reward. The four sat down once again, determined to wait until they could see Thomas for themselves. It was almost another two hours before a nurse came into the room, asking for the family of Thomas Magnum. They all recognized her as the nurse who'd taken care of Thomas the last time he'd been shot, that time by Hannah. She recognized them as well and shook her head. They followed her to a private room where he was waiting for them.

"Hey, guys!"

"Thomas, how're doing, buddy?" Rick asked, walking up to the bed.

"Pretty good, considering. Where's Annie?"

The others smiled at his concern for the Spaniel. Juliet answered. "Kumu took her back to the Nest for her reward of an excellent meal and a comfortable bed."

"That's great!" He frowned as he struggled to sit up. "The boys? Are they okay?"

The four traded looks; concerned that he didn't remember. T.C. cleared his throat as he told him again. "They're at the Nest. Kumu is taking care of them too."

Magnum relaxed back into the bed. "Good, good. The cops giving you a hard time about killing Pryce?"

They smiled, at least he remembered that. Katsumoto spoke up, finding himself in the uncomfortable position of being us and them, at the same time. "Not so far. The local officers have taken our statements and will be looking for yours as soon as you're able. There'll be an inquest, but I have no doubt that everything will be fine."

Magnum frowned, worried about his friends. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Magnum, I'm sure. It was a justified shooting." The confidence in his voice wasn't forced. He knew that would be the outcome. He'd been there.

The nurse who had been puttering around the room in the background to give them some privacy, spoke up, as she looked at the man in the bed. "You know, Mr. Magnum, we don't give frequent flyer miles to patients based on the number of times they show up here with gunshot wounds!" He smiled at her joke and she fell more under his spell, determined that he'd get the best possible care, not that all her patients didn't get that. Just that he'd get a little extra.

Rick stepped up next to the bed and put his hand on Thomas's arm, he frowned when he felt the slight heat. "Are you feeling hot?"

"A little. Nothing to worry about, Orville." He used Rick's given name to distract him.

Rick wasn't having it and T.C. moved up the bed as well, reaching out to put the back of his hand against Thomas's forehead, frowning as he, too, felt the heat. "Buddy, I think you're running a fever."

The nurse became concerned and stepped up with the thermometer, sticking it into his ear. When it beeped, she checked the results and felt her concern increase. It had risen in just the short time since she'd last checked it. 100.7 wasn't overly high, but just coming out of surgery for two gunshot wounds, was not good. She stepped out of the room and quietly called the attending physician.

A half hour later, Thomas's temperature had risen to 102.6 and the doctor was worried as he'd prescribed intravenous antibiotics and they didn't appear to be working. T.C. and Rick were more than concerned, they knew their immune systems were compromised during their time in the Korengal Valley and all were susceptible to infections. While Magnum slept fitfully, they gently pulled the doctor aside, Higgins and Katsumoto following, to let the doctor know this and the other two exchanged worried looks as they spoke.

The doctor frowned and said quietly. "I'm ordering stronger antibiotics. If you want to stay with your friend, then you'll all have to wear surgical masks. If his immune system is as weakened as you say it is, we don't want to take a chance on secondary infections. The last thing he needs is to catch something like a cold from one of you." They all quickly agreed, not wanting to leave him alone. The nurse left and returned with the masks, handed them out and helped them put them on correctly, then put on one herself. The doctor had requested that she stay with him, to watch for any signs, good or bad. Magnum chose then to wake up and laughed at them.

"You guys look like you're dressed up for Halloween or in some weird cult. What's going on?"

The nurse leaned over him and gently wiped a cool clothe over his face. "You have a bit of an infection and fever, Mr. Magnum. It's just a precaution."

"Thomas."

"What?"

"My name, it's Thomas."

"Thomas, then. I'm Shelly." He smiled up at her and she blushed a little, glad that the mask hid most of her face.

They sat with him as he dozed off and on, talking quietly amongst themselves. Shelly checked his temperature every fifteen minutes and didn't like the direction it was taking, namely up. When she saw that his temperature had risen to 104.2, she paged the doctor again. His friends panicked, especially as he now seemed out of it and was starting to mutter in another language.

"Is that…" T.C. started to ask.

Rick interrupted. "Yeah, Pashto."

"Damn."

"What does that mean?" The nurse asked.

"It means he thinks he's back in Afghanistan. He's asking them to stop, to not hurt us anymore. That's not good, not good."

The attending arrived and instituted cooling measures. The cooling blanket was brought in and draped over him but seemed to bother Thomas and he immediately tried to push it off. The doctor turned to the room. "I think it's best if you leave now."

"Um, doc? It might be better if we stay." Rick said.

"Why?"

"We believe he might be thinking he's back in the camp. He could become a danger to himself or to others." T.C. nodded at Rick's assessment.

"Should we restrain him?"

"No!" Both men answered immediately and fiercely, causing the man to take a step back.

"Sorry, doc, but that will only make it worse. They tied him up more times than we could keep track of." Rick said.

"Then what would you suggest?" He wasn't happy about this, worried about his patient and now his staff.

"We can keep him calm." T.C. said, putting his hand on Magnum's arm and focusing on him. "Thomas? We're safe. We're in Hawaii. You have nothing to worry about." He spoke softly and the man in the bed stopped moving, his lids opening to reveal glazed eyes.

"T.C.? C..cc…cccold."

"I know buddy." Rick said from the other side where he'd taken up his own position. "You've got a fever and the cooling blanket will help. You need to leave it alone."

Thomas looked around the room, not registering Higgins or Katsumoto. "Nuzo?" The two exchanged looks over his head.

"He had to leave. He wants you to take good care of yourself and listen to the doctors, okay?" Rick replied.

Magnum sighed and closed his eyes. "Okay." He drifted off to sleep again but it wasn't restful.

"You two seem like you've done this before." Shelly said, glad they'd been there. The doctor waited to hear the answer as well.

"Yeah, a time or two." T.C. sighed, settling into the chair by the bed, not removing his hand from his friend's arm. Katsumoto grabbed another chair and positioned it on the other side of the bed for Rick, who nodded his thanks. Having other patients to check in on, the doctor waited a few more minutes and then left, satisfied they were doing all they could. An hour later, Magnum's temperature spiked to 106, he started having seizures and they were forced to leave the room while the doctor raced in with other hospital staff to stabilize him. None of them could sit still and all four paced the waiting room, anxious to hear that he would be okay.

"He'll be fine, right?" Rick asked. "I mean, I promised Kumu he'd be fine!"

"Our boy's strong, you know that Rick. He'll beat this." T.C. replied.

"Yeah, but one of these days…"

"Today is not that day!" Juliet said, remembering how empty the estate had felt without him and not wanting to contemplate it being permanent, especially as it would be her fault. Something must have shown on her face and T.C. put a hand on her shoulder.

"Not sure how many times we have to tell you this, Higgy, but this is not your fault." He said quietly.

"Isn't it? Even if I hadn't brought Pryce into all your lives, it was still me who drove Thomas out of his home. I can't figure out why you don't all blame me!"

Rick stepped up and put his hand on her other shoulder. "Stuff happens, Juliet. Thomas came home, you guys made up. People fight, things are said, things are taken too much to heart, it blows over. He doesn't blame you and neither do we."

"How did you know he doesn't blame me?"

"Because, he knows what it's like to be in your spot. He blames himself for us getting captured, for everything we went through in Afghanistan. I'm guessing he told you it wasn't your fault?"

"Yeah, while Ian held a gun on him." She chuffed out a forlorn laugh. "He managed to piss off the man by completely ignoring him."

"That's our Thomas." T.C. laughed and then sobered as he said. "Seriously, you need to let this go."

"I'll try. I just wish this hadn't happened to him."

"All of us do, Juliet." Katsumoto spoke for the first time. "The only one to blame in all of this is Pryce."

"That's exactly what Magnum said." Juliet smiled at him, noticing the fleeting look of discomfort that may have come from his finding out he agreed with Thomas on something.

"Then listen to him, to both of them!" Rick said, shaking her shoulder a bit.

"I'll try."

"That's all we can ask." T.C. said. They finally settled into chairs to wait, although one or another would find it impossible to sit still and get up to pace again. It was almost an hour later when the doctor finally came back in, looking tired but relieved.

"His fever has broken. It's still high but finally going in the right direction. It doesn't look like he'll suffer any neurological damage as he woke up and knew where he was."

"Thank God." T.C. whispered, getting nods from the others. "When can we see him?"

"Let's give it a little longer. You'll have to wear the masks again but I'm confident we've turned the corner." He checked his watch. "Why don't you all go get something to eat? The cafeteria closes in an hour and they make a killer pastrami sub." All four turned to stare out the window, stunned that the sun was setting. None of them had slept or eaten in hours and they started to feel it as the tension in the room relaxed. They all thanked the man for everything he'd done for their friend and agree food was a good idea. After a rather rambunctious meal, all of them a bit silly from exhaustion and relief that Thomas was going to be okay, they made their way back to his room, to find him awake and aware.

In typical Magnum fashion, he'd flashed them his charming grin and asked. "So, when can I go home?"

~,~,~,~,~

Juliet stretched her legs out on the sand and wiggled her toes, reveling in the warmth. Kumu sat down in a chair next to the towel she was sitting on and handed her a beer. Technically, they weren't supposed to have alcohol on the beach, but no one other than Thomas and the boys ever came here. Plus, they had police presence in the form of Detective Katsumoto, who'd frowned when Rick had opened the cooler to show it full of beer, even as he was reaching for one. She smiled at the older woman and took a sip, her eyes tracking back to the people in the water.

A little over a month had passed since Ian Pryce had taken Magnum and Higgins. There'd been the expected inquisition into his death as four different people had shot him. Noelani had done the autopsy and couldn't determine which shot had actually killed the man, not that anyone really cared. Eventually, they were all cleared, the shooting declared justifiable homicide, just as Katsumoto had predicted, and Ian Pryce became a footnote in their lives. Higgins had been the one to deliver the happy news to MI6 that he was dead, along with the not so happy news that he'd admitted Fowler had been on his payroll but stressing that Marcus was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they'd been knee deep in MI6 agents, they hadn't made themselves known to her or to the HPD, something she was rather sad about as it would have been nice to touch base with some old friends.

Lt. Akana had launched an investigation into Pryce's boast of moles in the police. So far, it hadn't turned up anyone, but Magnum had already determined he was going to do his own investigation when he was back to one hundred percent. He'd been stuck in the hospital for four days, whining all the time until finally released. He hadn't been happy when he'd found out the assassin had paid people to find out who his three young friends were and put them in danger. People whose job it was to protect them.

Katsumoto and Kumu had joined forces to get the three boys out of their home and into foster care, together. The boy's mother had tried to keep custody, as neither she nor her husband worked, and the welfare money they used for their drugs would disappear. Magnum had testified at the hearing, still pale and with several prominent bruises that had turned lovely shades of green and yellow. He'd detailed his rescue of Alika and why, including her offer to sell him all three of her young sons…services. The disgust in his voice had impressed the judge and she'd quickly made her decision to remove the children permanently. The parents didn't have enough money to hire a lawyer to appeal and had threatened Thomas outside the courtroom, stupidly within Katsumoto's hearing. They were both promptly arrested and while awaiting their case coming before the court, they'd lost their house and disappeared. A restraining order was still out on both of them to not come within 500 feet of Magnum or any of the boys, just in case. Paulie E. had also disappeared and, with no record of Magnum shooting him, no charges were ever filed against him. He conveniently left that part out of his testimony and no one had asked.

Kumu had found a couple who'd never had children although they'd wanted them. Being foster parents had been discussed but decided against as they'd heard some horror stories. They'd agreed to meet the boys and it was love at first sight, on both sides. Both John and Aolani Jenkins were surfers, which had given them some common ground to get past the inevitable stiltedness of a first-time meeting between potential new parents/children. It had taken a while to get them approved by the foster care system, but they'd spent as much time together as they could, while anxiously awaiting the results. Now, she could already see the changes in the brothers even after just two weeks in their new home. They seemed more carefree and even looked healthier. Privately, Magnum and company were hoping that adoption might be in their future.

Juliet had to smile as she watched the antics in the water. They were supposed to be here to surf but there didn't seem to be much of that going on. Pushing each other off their surfboards? Well, there was plenty of that going on. She was happy to see them all so carefree. Her smile wavered as she remembered that night and its subsequent consequences. She had a new found understanding of Magnum's guilt over their capture by the Taliban. She still felt responsible for his, although she was working on that. Both of them had been betrayed by someone they cared about and trusted, leading to other people they cared about being hurt. Not that she'd ever let on how much Magnum, and his two best friends, meant to her now. That would give them too much power over her.

A cold, wet nose pushed under her free hand, followed by a whimper. The smile returned as she focused on Annie. The animal wanted her attention seeing as her person wasn't available at the moment. The small dog had become a fixture at the Nest and had wormed her way into the Major Domo's heart. The fact that Apollo and Zeus followed her around like lovesick…well, puppies they weren't, made her laugh. Still, the almost immediate bond between the three animals had surprised her. She and Magnum had never really discussed his keeping the Spaniel. It just…was. He'd put a half-hearted effort into advertising that he'd found the dog. When no one had showed up after several weeks of running the ad, she'd been as relieved as he. She began patting Annie and the dog leaned into her side, making her realize the animal cared for her as well.

She looked up when the sun disappeared, to find a dripping Magnum grinning down at her, his hand held out. "Hey, Higgy! I got a craving for a cheeseburger. What say we fire up the pit and cook some up?" They'd brought food with them, more than enough for everyone. She smiled and gave him her hand, letting him pull her up off the ground.

~,~,~,~,~

ʻO wau, e kuʻu hoaaloha. – I mean it, my friend.


End file.
